Building a Catafalque, Tomb of Ipuy
ca. 1279–1213 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
facsimile: H. 69.5 cm (27 3/8 in.); W. 81 cm (31 7/8 in.); scale 1:1; framed: H. 73.7 cm (29 in.); W. 84.5 cm (33 1/4 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Ipuy (TT 217), catafalque
Period
New Kingdom, Ramesside
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1930
Accession Number
30.4.116
Tags
Art Historical Context
This facsimile captures a lively scene from the tomb of Ipuy, an artisan who lived during Egypt’s New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, under Ramesses II. Created around 1279–1213 B.C., the original wall painting shows workmen assembling a catafalque—a grand wooden platform used to support a coffin during funerary rites. The copy, rendered in tempera on paper at actual size by Egyptologist and artist Norman de Garis Davies, preserves the vivid colors and everyday gestures of these ancient laborers. Davies’s meticulous technique allows modern viewers to appreciate the original artists’ skill in depicting m...
About the Artist
Norman de Garis Davies · 1865–1941
Norman de Garis Davies (1865–1941) was a British Egyptologist and archaeological artist whose meticulous copies of ancient Egyptian tomb paintings constitute one of the most important records of pharaonic art ever made. Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, he originally trained for the ministry before being drawn into Egyptology through his involvement with the Egypt Exploration Fund in the 1890...