Origin and history
Luxor's obelisk is an Egyptian monument in pink syenite erected in the 13th century BC under the reign of Ramses II in front of the temple of Amon in Luxor. Commanded to celebrate the divine power of the Pharaoh, he was part of a pair of obelisks marking the sacred entrance to the sanctuary.
His faces are engraved with hieroglyphs glorifying the sovereign and the god Amon-Rê, with scenes of political and religious propaganda typical of the New Empire. The context of his creation is part of the apogee of Pharaonic Egypt, where the obelisks symbolized the rays of the god Re and served as a link between heaven and earth. These monuments, carved in quarries from Aswan, were transported by the Nile to their place of settlement, a technical feat for the time.
Luxor, then called Thebes, was the religious capital and a centre of power, which explains the concentration of grandiose monuments like those of Karnak or the Valley of Kings. The obelisk experienced a first major change when it was transported to France in the 19th century. Offered in 1830 by Méhémet Ali, viceroy of Egypt, to Charles X, he was chosen by Jean-François Champollion for his state of conservation.
His trip, organized by the engineer Apollinaire Lebas and Captain Raymond de Verninac Saint-Maur, lasted almost three years (1831–33), involving a specially designed barge, the Luxor, and a journey sown with obstacles, from Nile sand banks to storms in the Mediterranean. His erection on Place de la Concorde on October 25, 1836 marked a symbolic turning point for Paris. Louis-Philippe I, wishing to avoid the memory tensions associated with the French Revolution, replaced a monument dedicated to Louis XVI, destroyed in 1830.
The obelisk, turned 90° from its original orientation, became an urban landmark and a scientific tool: in 1999, a giant sundial was installed, using its shadow to indicate the hour. Ranked a historic monument in 1937, it is the oldest monument in Paris, even before the founding of the city. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the obelisk was thoroughly restored and studied.
In 1998, a golden pyramidion was added to replace the lost original, financed by the Bergé–Saint Laurent Foundation. In 2022–23, a new restoration campaign focused on the tip, damaged by weather and birds. In addition, recent research, such as that of Egyptologist Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier in 2025, revealed hidden hieroglyphic cryptography, highlighting his role in Ramses II's propaganda.
The obelisk is also a cultural and militant symbol. In 1993, Act Up-Paris covered him with a giant condom to raise awareness about AIDS, a landmark act in the history of activism. Today, it attracts millions of annual visitors, serving as both a tourist landmark, an astronomical instrument and a witness to Franco-Egyptian exchanges.
His twin, who remained in Luxor, recalls the historical ties between the two nations, while in Paris he embodies a bridge between antiquity and modernity. Finally, its original base, decorated with baboons in solar adoration, considered too explicit for the nineteenth century, is preserved at the Louvre Museum. This room, like the hieroglyphs of the monument, offers an overview of Egyptian beliefs, where the sun and divine kingship were inseparable.
The Obelisk of Concord, much more than just a decor, remains an ancient masterpiece of engineering and a timeless symbol of power, science and collective memory.
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