The obelisk was a key element of Egyptian architecture – made out of stone “which may be called long broaches or spires” as was described in the first English use in 1546.
Although the obelisk is Egyptian, originally the word comes from Greek as a result of the writings of Herodotus who described the obelisk. From this time onwards they became collectors’ items –signifying national power and wealth. Altogether there are 29 obelisks remaining worldwide. Only eight of them remain in Egypt. As the first collectors, the Romans bagged the largest number. Today there are eleven Egyptian obelisks in Italy. A Cleopatra’s Needle is to be found in London and in New York.
One of the earliest references in English in a 1561 translation from Italian of The Book of the Courtier – a classic by Castiglione. This was one of the key books of the Renaissance, a sort of how to be a gentleman book which was extremely influential across Europe. The translator Thomas Hoby was the first Englishman to take the Grand Tour – the leisurely year-long trip through Europe which became the fashion for gentlemen. Later he was the English ambassador to France and died there at the age of 33, two months after having being appointed. He translates the word obelisk in passing, but helpfully provides a small definition for the unknowing English reader as a sub-heading “great high square stones smaller and smaller unto the top”.
Purchas compilation of travel reports provides more details of an obelisk as a pillar “of one stone, fashioned like a needle”. Obviously explanations of what had been seen were still necessary.
Shortly after this, the fashion of building new obelisks started. The first modern obelisk was erected in France in Aix-en-Provence in 1667. Not quite the dimensions of the original Egyptian obelisks, but still a start, and it can still be seen today right in the middle of a fountain. Now an obelisk is a key landmark in cities the world over. Go to Washington DC, Buenos Aires and Jakarta to see just have far the obelisk has got.
