Why did Egypt reject Statue of Liberty?

The first sketch of New York's Statue of Liberty by architect Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was first intended to represent an “Egyptian peasant in Muslim garments.” In his early designs, Bartholdi called the sculpture “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.” However, Egyptian officials rejected the statue as too expensive, ...



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The statue almost ended up at the Suez Canal. Bartholdi was determined to build his colossus, and initially pitched it to the Egyptian government for the Suez Canal, which was opening at the time.

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The controversy about the race of the Statue of Liberty has been a a ongoing battle for years. Some people think that the statue was modeled after a caucasian woman , some people think she was modeled after a African American woman.

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An illustration of the presentation of the Statue to the U.S. Minister Levi Parsons Morton in Paris on July 4, 1881. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution.

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The French paid for the statue and its transportation, the Americans for the pedestal and installation. In 1875, Bartholdi completed the torch-bearing arm first and exhibited it at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. He exhibited the head at the World's Fair in Paris in 1878.

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Although France paid for the statue, the US had to pay for the pedestal. The construction of the Statue of Liberty was a joint project between France and the United States.

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While Egypt rejected the idea as too costly, Bartholdi's initial vision of an “Arab peasant” evolved into one of a “colossal goddess” that he'd later apply to his Statue of Liberty design ( here ).

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This design was ultimately rejected by the khedive. An early sketch of the statue done by Bartholdi. Bartholdi's relationship with the scholar Édouard de Laboulaye would provide him with another opportunity to achieve the colossal.

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It began with efforts to finance this unprecedented undertaking. France would be responsible for creating the Statue and assembling it in the United States while the American people would fund and build the pedestal. To raise funds in France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were used.

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The truss in statue's right shoulder had seriously weakened and was in danger of collapse. And almost half of the iron armature that supports the copper skin had corroded, in part because the statue had become, in effect, a giant battery.

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The Statue of Liberty is owned by the Government of the United States of America. The Statue was designated as a National Monument in 1924 (the National Monument additionally includes Liberty Island [1937] and Ellis Island [1965]), and is administered by the National Park Service.

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There are two genuine statues and several lesser versions of the Statue of Liberty. The original and most famous is the one located on Liberty Island, a gift from the French to America. The second is located in Paris, France, and was a reciprocal gift from the United States in 1889.

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The journey for the “little sister” has just begun: Following the footsteps of the original statue, it will board a ship at the port city of Le Havre on June 19 and reach New York on July 1. Its final destination will be Washington, DC, where it will be on display for 10 years at the French ambassador's residence.

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With 31 tons of copper and 125 tons of steel, the scrap value of the Statue of Liberty comes in at $227,610, far below two of the most expensive statues in the world. But that's what happens when you use millions worth of gold and bronze.

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