Sphinxes

Sphinxes on the University embankment about 3,5 thousand years. Carved from syenite, they stood at the entrance to the majestic temple, built in Egypt near Thebes for Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

In 1832 the Sphinxes arrived in St. Petersburg. The first two years they spent in the courtyard of the Academy of Arts. So much time has gone to create a pier near its walls, the architect of which was Konstantin Ton. His place on the embankment of the Sphinx took in 1834.

Egyptian style
the manifestation of Egyptianism, a direction in European art, using elements of the art of Ancient Egypt