The Oval Room is a part of the suite of state rooms of Emperor Paul I. Its sculptural decoration (caryatids, bas-reliefs) made by the master K. Albani has been mostly preserved since the time of Paul I. In the middle of the ceiling there was a plafond featuring the Olympian Gods painted by A. Vighi. In the middle of the 19th century, when the Oval Room was one of the mock-up rooms of the College of Engineering, it was divided into two floors and for that purpose a cornice and overdoors were removed, and a door was made instead of one of the bas-reliefs. In the late 19th century, the floor was dismantled, and the removed bas-relief was replaced by a memorial board. In 2008, during the restoration some fragments of the artificial marble decoration of the walls were found and preserved.
