Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from a private collection, Cairo

Bonhams is delighted to present to the market this magnificent and rare bronze sculpture by Mansour Farag. Considered to be one of the most prominent Egyptian sculptors of his generation, Mansour Farag belonged to the second generation of modern Egyptian sculptors along with his counterpart Ahmed Osman, following Mahmoud Mokhtar and preceding Mahmoud Moussa.

In 1930, Farag graduated from the School of Arts & Crafts now known as the Faculty of Applied Arts in Cairo. He spent the following year in Aswan working as an art teacher before being granted a state scholarship to undertake a post-graduate degree in sculpture in Europe. Between the years of 1931 and 1935, Farag spent the first two years in London, a year in the Beaux-Arts de Paris and his final year in Florence. After completing his studies, Farag returned to his beloved Egypt and became the head of the sculpture department until 1970.

This seminal sculpture sheds light on the integral role the fellaha played in 20th century Egypt, particularly in the domain of agriculture and rural society. In this work the viewer is captivated by the artist's approach towards his female protagonist. The Fellaha's Burden unveils the noble suffering and hard work of the female farmers upon whose backs the glory and the survival of Egypt rested. Despite her challenges the fellaha stands tall and upright as she carries the burden of transporting her harvest from place to place up and down the river. The iconic symbol of the fellaha was one of the earliest acts of support male artists gave to the Egyptian feminist movement in their recognition and celebration of the fellaha's contribution to society.

1935 was a monumental year for Farag, the year he realized his iconic masterpiece the Sellers of Aswan Souk. That same year he was awarded the first prize in the Société des Amis des Arts, where he obtained the Gold Medal for The Sellers of Aswan Souk. This artwork was also exhibited at the fifteenth Venice Biennale in 1938. In the 1940s, Farag realized numerous sculpture projects, mostly reliefs, in public spaces such as the Giza Zoo, Saraye El Qobba subway station and the Ministry of Defence. In 1947, he sculpted the bronze reliefs decorating the pedestal of the monument to commemorate Ibrahim Pacha statue on the Opera square in Cairo in collaboration with his colleague and sculptor Ahmed Osman. He was also commissioned to do numerous statues and portraits of the third President of Egypt Anwar Sadat's. Sadat's bust was known to be the most famous. In 1994, Mansour Farag was awarded the State Distinction Prize in honour of his artistic achievements.