Mahmoud Mokhtar, Au Bord du Nil (On the Banks of the Nile), 1930, Bronze Patina, 220.5 x 50 x 46 cm.

This sculpture by eminent Egyptian modern artist, Mahmoud Mokhtar (Egyptian, 1891 Tanbara – 1934 Cairo) is of a noble female peasant carrying a jar over her head. The depiction of the rural female peasant or the Fellaha is a form of national pride in the Egyptian tradition and artistic heritage. The great nephew of the artist and Egypt’s former Minister of Culture, Dr. Emad Abou Ghazi asserts this. He refers to the sculptures produced by Mahmoud Mokhtar under the title of this work, On the Banks of the Nile, as a symbol of the entire people of Egypt.