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private residence in Heliopolis. It is One of the two statues, by Charles Cordier,
one of the world’s most exquisite palaces, standing next to the inner door of the Palace of
combining both Indian and Cambodian
architecture, as well as mixed features Baron Empain
of the European architecture in the
nineteenth century.
On the third floor of the palace, right
in front of the main door, the second
and third nearly identical statues of onyx
marble are set into wall niches on both
sides of the door(3). Despite their terrible
condition, the two statues still bear the
handwritten signature of Charles Cordier
(C. Cordier)(4) clearly inscribed on their
bases and dated 1872.
To recognize the importance and
fame of Cordier, it is enough to know
that Khedive Isma’il commissioned him
to create the statue of Ibrahim Pasha
located thus far at the Opera Square
in Cairo(5), and another replica of the
statue at the National Military Museum
in Salah El-Din Citadel, as well as the
bust of Khedive Isma’il.
(3) Mongy, Yasser: «O Ministry of Antiquities, These Are Some Unknown Treasures at the Palace of Baron
Empain», Rosa El-Youssef newspaper, September 4th, 2016.
(4) Mongy, Yasser: The Rediscovery of the Sculptures of the Palace of Baron Empain, Zakerat Misr (Memory
of Egypt) magazine, issue no. 35, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, October 2018. This is the first documented
methodological study identifying both artistic and historical references to the statues of the Palace of Baron
Empain, contributing to the literature and research conducted on the urban heritage of Heliopolis, the
biography of Baron Empain, and the artistic aspects of his palace. None of the previous publications, in Arabic
or in any other language, has referred to these statues. Even the sources of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities,
the supervisor of the palace since February 2007, and the architectural study of the palace generated under
the supervision of the Embassy of Belgium in Cairo in Cairo, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of
Antiquities, did not include any citations on these statues.
(5) Lababidi, Lesley: Cairo’s Street Stories: Exploring the City’s Statues, Squares, Bridges, Gardens, and
Sidewalk Cafés, the American University in Cairo Press, 2008, pp. 41, 58, 64.
252
one of the world’s most exquisite palaces, standing next to the inner door of the Palace of
combining both Indian and Cambodian
architecture, as well as mixed features Baron Empain
of the European architecture in the
nineteenth century.
On the third floor of the palace, right
in front of the main door, the second
and third nearly identical statues of onyx
marble are set into wall niches on both
sides of the door(3). Despite their terrible
condition, the two statues still bear the
handwritten signature of Charles Cordier
(C. Cordier)(4) clearly inscribed on their
bases and dated 1872.
To recognize the importance and
fame of Cordier, it is enough to know
that Khedive Isma’il commissioned him
to create the statue of Ibrahim Pasha
located thus far at the Opera Square
in Cairo(5), and another replica of the
statue at the National Military Museum
in Salah El-Din Citadel, as well as the
bust of Khedive Isma’il.
(3) Mongy, Yasser: «O Ministry of Antiquities, These Are Some Unknown Treasures at the Palace of Baron
Empain», Rosa El-Youssef newspaper, September 4th, 2016.
(4) Mongy, Yasser: The Rediscovery of the Sculptures of the Palace of Baron Empain, Zakerat Misr (Memory
of Egypt) magazine, issue no. 35, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, October 2018. This is the first documented
methodological study identifying both artistic and historical references to the statues of the Palace of Baron
Empain, contributing to the literature and research conducted on the urban heritage of Heliopolis, the
biography of Baron Empain, and the artistic aspects of his palace. None of the previous publications, in Arabic
or in any other language, has referred to these statues. Even the sources of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities,
the supervisor of the palace since February 2007, and the architectural study of the palace generated under
the supervision of the Embassy of Belgium in Cairo in Cairo, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of
Antiquities, did not include any citations on these statues.
(5) Lababidi, Lesley: Cairo’s Street Stories: Exploring the City’s Statues, Squares, Bridges, Gardens, and
Sidewalk Cafés, the American University in Cairo Press, 2008, pp. 41, 58, 64.
252
