Record-Breaking Statues: Ancient, Tall, and Underwater

These sculptures amaze not only with their size but also with their age, material, and unusual locations—from museum displays to ocean depths.

Mar 1, 2026

«Lion Man»

Carved in the 28th century BCE, the Great Sphinx of Giza stands over 20 meters tall and faces the sunrise.
Source:
Wikimedia Commons

Created approximately 38,000 years ago, this figurine made from mammoth tusk is one of the oldest sculptures on the planet. Discovered in Germany in the 1930s, the 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) statuette with a human body and a lion«s head possibly depicted a deity. Today it is housed in the Ulm City Museum.

Mount Rushmore features 18.4-meter tall bas-reliefs of four U.S. presidents carved into granite in South Dakota.
Source:
Legion Media

The Great Sphinx

The Spring Temple Buddha in China reaches 153 meters in height, once the world«s second tallest statue.
Source:
Wikimedia Commons

Carved from a monolithic rock in Egypt around the 28th century BCE, the Great Sphinx of Giza is considered the oldest example of monumental sculpture. Its height exceeds 20 meters (65.6 feet), and its gaze faces the sunrise. Despite centuries of research, this colossus continues to hold many secrets.

Installed in the Bahamas, the 5-meter «Ocean Atlas» is the largest underwater statue and promotes coral growth.
Source:
Wkimedia Commons

Mount Rushmore Memorial

Dating to the 9th century BCE, the Shigir Idol is the oldest known wooden sculpture, found in the Urals.
Source:
Wikimedia Commons

Opened in 1941 in South Dakota, this grand bas-relief with a height of 18.4 meters (60.4 feet) depicts four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The project, executed in granite, is considered one of the most expensive sculptural works in history when adjusted for modern currency.

Angkor Wat«s bas-relief spans over 800 meters, making it the longest continuous relief with mythological scenes.
Source:
Legion Media

Spring Temple Buddha

The 87-meter «Motherland Calls» in Volgograd is Russia«s tallest sculpture, part of a Stalingrad battle memorial.
Source:
Legion Media

Erected in China in 2008, this statue reaches 153 meters (502 feet) in height including the pedestal, which for a long time made it the second largest in the world. However, in 2018, the Statue of Unity in the Indian state of Gujarat took the top spot: its total height is 240 meters (787 feet), with the figure of Vallabhbhai Patel itself measuring 182 meters (597 feet).

MUSA in Mexico has over 500 underwater sculptures on 420 square meters, creating a marine ecosystem.
Source:
Legion Media

Statue «Ocean Atlas»

Christ the Redeemer in Rio was once the tallest Christ statue at 38 meters, but taller ones exist.
Source:
Legion Media

Installed in 2014 off the coast of the Bahamas, this 5-meter (16.4-foot) sculpture is the largest underwater statue in the world. It is part of the Clifton Heritage underwater park and made from an eco-friendly material that over time becomes covered with corals, turning into an artificial reef as envisioned by its creator, Jason deCaires Taylor.

Shigir Idol

Dating back to the 9th century BCE, the Shigir Idol is the oldest known wooden sculpture. Found in the Middle Urals in 1890, it is now exhibited in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum in Yekaterinburg.

Angkor Wat Bas-Relief

Created in the 12th century in the Cambodian temple complex of Angkor Wat, this bas-relief with a length of over 800 meters (2,625 feet) is the longest continuous relief in the world. It covers the external walls of the gallery, depicting scenes from mythology and history.

Monument «The Motherland Calls!»

Opened in Volgograd in 1967, this monument with a height of 87 meters (285 feet, including the base) is the tallest sculpture in Russia and one of the tallest in the world. It is the central element of the memorial complex «To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad» on Mamayev Kurgan.

Underwater Museum of Art

Founded in 2009 off the coast of Cancun in Mexico, the Underwater Museum of Art (MUSA) is the world«s largest collection of underwater sculptures. Over an area of 420 square meters (4,521 square feet) on the Caribbean Sea floor, more than 500 statues are placed, creating a unique ecosystem for marine life.

Christ the Redeemer Statue

Erected in Rio de Janeiro in 1931, the 38-meter (124.7-foot) statue on Corcovado Mountain (709 meters above sea level) was for decades the tallest Christ sculpture in the world. However, in 1994, a figure 2.44 meters (8 feet) taller appeared in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and in 2010, a Christ the King statue with a height of 52 meters (170.6 feet) including the base was built in Poland.