Detail of the watercolour The Museum Vestibule Full size image
		Statue of an Egyptian priest Late 18th - early 19th century Full size image

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The interiors of the Peristyle (as the main vestibule of the museum is called in the archive documents) and the Main Staircase are designed in accordance with the architectural canons for ancient temples. The chief tectonic elements are columns, flat coffered ceilings and multicoloured marble floors and walls. Everything is filled with regal majesty and luxurious natural materials displaying austerely monumental forms and noble proportions.
The gallery of the Main Staircase is "all resplendent with mother-of-pearl and jasper". The four candelabra and twelve vases made of Siberian semiprecious stones installed on the suggestion of the Russian architects worthily round off a magnificent interior.