Great Sphinx of Tanis

E62770

The Great Sphinx of Tanis is an ancient Egyptian granite sphinx statue, likely dating to the Middle Kingdom, renowned as one of the largest and most impressive Egyptian sculptures housed outside Egypt.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Egyptian sculpture
granite sculpture
monumental statue
sphinx statue
acquisitionBy Louvre Museum
acquisitionMethod excavation at Tanis
artStyle Middle Kingdom royal style
collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre
conservationStatus well preserved
culture Ancient Egypt
displayedIn Louvre, Sully Wing
Louvre, ground floor
function royal monument
symbol of royal power
hasBodyOf lion
hasFeature elongated lion body
front paws extended forward
royal false beard (partly damaged)
hasHeaddress nemes headdress
hasHeadOf human
hasRoyalInsignia uraeus cobra
height approximately 1.8 meters
iconography royal sphinx
inscribedFor Amenemhat II
Merneptah
Shoshenq I
languageOfInscriptions Egyptian hieroglyphs
length approximately 4.8 meters
likelyDate Middle Kingdom of Egypt
circa 20th century BCE
locatedIn Louvre Museum
locatedInCity Paris
locatedInCountry France
madeIn Egypt
material granite
notableFor being one of the largest Egyptian sphinxes outside Egypt
high quality of carving
well-preserved facial features
originalFindspot Tanis
originalFindspotCountry Egypt
originalFindspotRegion Nile Delta
period Pharaonic Egypt
represents a recumbent sphinx
reusedBy later pharaohs
subjectHeading Egyptian sculpture
Sphinxes (Mythology) in art
weight approximately 12 tons
width approximately 1.5 meters

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Louvre Museum
notableWork

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