Object description

The Luxor Obelisks are a pair of Ancient Egyptian obelisks carved to stand either side of the portal of the Luxor Temple in the reign of Ramesses II. The left-hand obelisk remains in its location in Egypt, but the right-hand stone, 23 metres high, is now at the centre of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. The Luxor Obelisk in Paris was classified officially as a Monument historique in 1936; beneath it is the Métro station, Concorde. The obelisks are of yellow granite and inscribed with hieroglyphs in honour of the Pharaoh Ramesses II.