The Great Sphinx of Tanis
One of the largest sphinxes outside Egypt — a colossal royal guardian in pink granite, carved more than four thousand years ago.
Carved from a single block of pink granite, the Great Sphinx of Tanis is about 4.8 metres long and weighs some 26 tonnes. It combines a lion's body with the head of a pharaoh wearing the royal nemes headcloth and false beard — the king as guardian of sacred places.
The sphinx was uncovered in 1825 among the ruins of Tanis, a great city of the Nile Delta, but it is far older: several pharaohs inscribed their names on it, and it is generally thought to date to the Old Kingdom, around 2600 BC, having been reused by later rulers over the centuries.
Since entering the Louvre it has guarded the entrance to the Egyptian antiquities in the crypt of the Sully wing, welcoming visitors much as it once watched over an Egyptian temple.
- 🗿TypePink granite · ~4.8 m
- 🏛️OriginTanis, Nile Delta
- 📅Datec. 2600 BC
- 🏛️RoomSully wing · Egyptian antiquities
- 📍LocationMusée du Louvre, 75001 Paris
About the Louvre
The Louvre is the world’s largest and most-visited art museum. Once the fortress and royal palace of the kings of France, it opened as a public museum in 1793 and today holds some 35,000 works spanning antiquity to the mid-19th century — from Egyptian antiquities and Greek marbles to the French Crown Jewels.
Since 1989, visitors enter beneath the glass Pyramid designed by architect I. M. Pei, which opens onto the museum’s three wings — Denon, Sully and Richelieu — arranged around the Cour Napoléon. The Louvre stands in the 1st arrondissement along the Rue de Rivoli, beside the Tuileries Gardens and the Seine.
The museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 9 am to 6 pm (with a late evening on Fridays). Timed tickets are strongly recommended and can be booked on the official site, louvre.fr; under-18s enter free, as do EU residents under 26. Nearest métro: Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7).
Where to see it — the Louvre and around
The Louvre (pulsing marker) at the centre. Toggle the filters to explore the heritage, gardens, restaurants and activities of the 1st arrondissement — and the hotels around it.