Image Gallery 2 - Images of the Great Sphinx from the early 19th Century

Egypt in a nutshell. The image accompanying the entry for "Egypt" in the 1810 Encyclopaedia londinensis, or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature borrowed Vivant Denon's 1798 depiction of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The image, and the entire encyclopedia, can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A depiction of the front of the Great Sphinx of Giza as revealed in 1817 during the first excavations of the modern era. The image by Henry Salt, the British Consul General in Egypt at the time, was published in Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 (Vol 3). The image can be found on Archive.org at this link

An illustration by Henry Salt of the monumental Roman period staircase that once led down to the foot of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The staircase, to the east of the Great Sphinx, was completely removed in the 1920-30s during excavations by Émile Baraize. The removal of the steps led to the discovery of the ancient Egyptian "Sphinx Temple" below them. The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A plan of the excavations at the front of the Great Sphinx carried out in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia. The legs of the Sphinx and the chapel between them are shown on the right while the monumental Roman staircase that once descended to the chapel is shown on the left.

The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A reconstruction of one of the two Roman period viewing pedestals that once stood midway down the flight of Roman stairs to the east of the Great Sphinx. After descending the monumental staircase the viewer would climb the short steps of the pedestal to view the face of the Great Sphinx framed between the pillars on either side of the pedestal. The original illustration by Henry Salt can be seen at this link.

The chapel found between the front legs of the Great Sphinx containing the "dream stele" of Thutmose IV and two stele of Rameses the Great. The illustration is by Henry Salt and dates to 1817 after excavation by Giovanni Battista Caviglia. The image can be found on archive.org at this link.

An image of the granite "horned" altar uncovered by Caviglia between the paws of the Great Sphinx of Giza in 1817. Henry Salt wrote of it's discovery "The altar yet retains marks of fire - the effects, probably of burnt-offerings". Horned altars are referred to in the Bible, for example Leviticus 4:7 "The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting". Similar "horned" altars have been found in excavations elsewhere such as the one discovered at Tel Be'er Sheva in Israel. They are usually dated to the early 1st Millenium BCE. The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A stele of Rameses the Great found in the small temple between the legs of the Great Sphinx of Giza by Caviglia in 1817. One of a pair, it is now in the Louvre Museum. This illustration is by Henry Salt published in Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 (Vol 3). The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A detailed description of both of the Sphinx stele of Rameses II can be found on JSTOR at this link.

It isn't just the face of the Great Sphinx of Giza that has lost it's nose. A limestone cobra, representing Wadjet the goddess of Lower Egypt, that once adorned the forehead of the Great Sphinx also has a missing nose. This fragment of the uraeus was found at the base of the Sphinx's chest during the first modern excavations of the Great Sphinx in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia. The original is now in the British Museum and a copy is in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

An illustration of large fragments of the beard of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The fragments were uncovered by Caviglia during his 1817 excavations, illustrated by Henry Salt and finally published in Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 (Vol 3). The hieroglyphs behind the king who is depicted making an offering are translated by Mark Lehner as reading "life and protection around and behind him". The plaited style of the beard indicates that the Great Sphinx was regarded as a divinity. The image can be found on Archive.org at this link.

A plan of the excavations of the Great Sphinx of Giza carried out in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia. The plan differs from modern plans in several ways. The Roman staircase to the east of the Sphinx has now been completely removed, as have most of the mudbrick walls erected by Thutmose IV illustrated here to its west.

In addition, the plan does not include any of the surrounding temples that had yet to be discovered. The original image can be seen on archive.org at this link.

An 1830 print of the Great Sphinx of Giza based on an illustration by Otto Baron Howen from the digital collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

You can see the full sized original image at this link.

A woodcutting from Michael Russell's "A View of ancient and modern Egypt: an outline of its natural history" dating to 1831/2. The image borrows details from an image first published in Volume 5 of the plates of antiquities from "Description de l'Égypte" (1822) which was based on illustrations made during Naopoleon's Egyptian expedition in 1798. A higher resolution copy of the image is available in the digital collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

A highly stylised and colourised engraving of the Great Sphinx and the pyramid of Khufu dating to between 1823-1838. The engraving by Andrea Bernieri is based largely on a painting of the Sphinx by Luigi Mayer. The engraving can be seen in the digital collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

A representation of the Great Sphinx of Giza and the pyramids from "Panorama D'Egypte et de Nubie", a collection of prints based on illustrations by Hector Horeau dating to 1841. You can see a higher resolution copy of the image in the online collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

Detail of an etching caricaturing Egypt. It was used as the frontispiece of "Panorama D'Egypte et de Nubie", a collection of prints based on illustrations by Hector Horeau dating to 1841. The head of the Great Sphinx of Giza can be seen among the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the step pyramid of Djoser, the bent pyramid of Sneferu, and many others. You can see the full image in the online collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

An image of the Great Sphinx of Giza published in 1843 in "A Pictorial Tour in the Mediterranean" by John H Allan. The funerary monument of Khentkawes can be seen over the left shoulder of the Sphinx. Allan mentions a rare shower of rain in the accompanying text: "We had scarcely time to examine this singular and gigantic monument of antiquity, when a smart shower of rain, the first we had experienced in Egypt, drove us away; a neighbouring tomb afforded us shelter, which we found had lately been converted by Hill and Co., of Cairo, into a sleeping apartment, furnished with chairs, tables, etc. for the accommodation of those wishing to pass the night at the pyramids." The original image can be seen on archive.org at this link.

Another image of the Great Sphinx of Giza published in 1843 in "A Pictorial Tour in the Mediterranean" by John H Allan. Although this image is faded, in some copies it is still possible to see the faint outline of the dying rays of the setting sun emanating from behind Khafre's pyramid over the left shoulder of the Sphinx. The original image can be seen on archive.org at this link.

An illustration of the Great Sphinx of Giza by Etienne Rey dating to 1843-44 and published in "Voyage en Grèce et dans le Levant" (1849).

You can see the image and the full book in the Internet Archive at this link.

The picture was slightly changed in a later edition of the book as can be seen at this page. The later picture seems to incorporate some details adapted from Francis Frith's 1857-58 photographs of the Sphinx.

A re-colourised painting of the Giza Plateau by Karl Richard Lepsius dating from his expedition to Egypt in the 1840s. The view is towards the southeast from the pyramid of Khafre. The Great Sphinx of Giza can be seen from behind, gazing out across the flood plain of the Nile.

The full original image can be seen in the collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

An illustration of the "Dream Stele" of Thutmose IV by Karl Richard Lepsius. The stele was uncovered during Caviglia's excavations in 1817 and is thought to date to the 18th dynasty of Egypt around 1400BCE. It was found at the back of the small temple between the legs of the Great Sphinx. In the text Thutmose IV claims to have been given his kingdom by the Great Sphinx itself in exchange for protecting the Great Sphinx from the sands that were now encroaching upon it. Most of the mudbrick walls that Thutmose IV built for this purpose have now been removed although some small sections remain. The image can be found in the digital collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

A detailed illustration of the small temple between the forelegs of the Great Sphinx by Karl Richard Lepsius dating to the 1840s. The image can be found in the digital collection of the New York Public Library at this link.

An illustration of the sun setting on the horizon behind the Great Sphinx of Giza published in 1849 in volume 3 of "The Holy Land. Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, Nubia from the drawings made on the spot by David Roberts, R.A.". The original image can be found in the digital collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art at this link.

A fairly caricatured rendering of the Great Sphinx published between 1842-49 in a volume of images entitled "The Holy Land. Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, Nubia from the drawings made on the spot by David Roberts, R.A.". A higher resolution copy of the original image is available on the website of the New York Public Library at this link.

A print published between 1842-49 in a volume of images entitled "The Holy Land. Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, Nubia from the drawings made on the spot by David Roberts, R.A.". A higher resolution copy of the original image is available on the website of the New York Public Library at this link.

A print entitled "The Pyramids of Geezeh" published between 1842-49 in a volume of images entitled "The Holy Land. Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, Nubia from the drawings made on the spot by David Roberts, R.A.". The head of the Great Sphinx is visible drawn from the perspective of the artist standing on top of Gebel Ghibli - a hill to the South of the Giza plateau. The remains of Khentkawes' funerary monument are visible in the foreground to the left. A higher resolution copy of the original image is available on the website of the New York Public Library at this link.