Adam Henein (Egypt, 1929-2020) The Owl terracotta executed in 1989 30 x 26cm (11 13/16 x 10 1/4in). Footnotes: Provenance: Property from a private collection, Alexandria 'What you have to do is look. When you look at a stone right, that's when you enter into its spirit. One day you'll find yourself inside it, and understand what it's all about.' - Adam Henein Born in Cairo in 1929 into a Coptic family with roots in Asyut, Upper Egypt, Adam Henein was raised among craftsmen. His father worked as a silversmith and Henein developed an early sensitivity to material and form, displaying a particular fascination for Pharaonic sculptures. Henein went on to study sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, graduating in 1953. Following his graduation, he spent time at the Luxor Atelier, an institution founded to preserve and teach the principles of ancient Egyptian artistic traditions. In the 1950s, he received a scholarship to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in the late 1950s and he discovered Western modernism. Back in Egypt during the early 1960s, Henein immersed himself in the landscapes of Nubia and Upper Egypt, living among rural communities along the Nile. He explored bronze and plaster, creating a rich body of work focused around animals, birds, and local figures. What was meant to be a short stay in Paris in 1971 eventually extended to over two decades. During this period, he developed a distinctive approach to painting, notably by mixing natural pigments mixed with gum arabic, and producing works with the textural richness of ancient frescoes. By the 1980s, Henein's work evolved toward increasing abstraction, stripping away figuration in favour of layered forms, colour fields, and structural composition. Upon his return to Egypt in 1996, he was appointed to lead the restoration of the Great Sphinx at Giza and founded the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium, an annual gathering that revived the tradition of working directly in granite. In 2014, the Adam Henein Museum opened in Cairo's Harraniya district, housing the most comprehensive collection of his sculpture and painting. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing