Ceiling Fragment , Tomb of Intef
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
facsimile: 20 x 20 cm (7 7/8 x 7 7/8 in.), framed: 25.7 x 25.7 cm (10 1/8 x 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Intef (TT 155), ceiling fragment
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1948
Accession Number
48.105.21
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Ceiling Fragment* from the Tomb of Intef offers a glimpse into the opulent afterlife beliefs of ancient Egypt's New Kingdom. Dating to around 1479–1458 B.C. during Dynasty 18—the era of powerful pharaohs like Thutmose III—the original decoration adorned the ceiling of Intef's tomb, likely featuring intricate patterns of stars, lotuses, or geometric motifs symbolizing the eternal sky and rebirth. Such tomb ceilings were designed to guide the deceased's soul through the heavens, blending astronomy, mythology, and artistry in vibrant frescoes painted directly on plaster with minera...
About the Artist
Nina de Garis Davies · 1881–1965
Nina de Garis Davies, born Anna Macpherson Cummings on January 6, 1881, in Salonika, Greece, to English-Scottish parents Cecil J. Cummings and Sarah Macintosh Tannoch, showed early artistic talent as the eldest of three daughters. After her father's death in 1894, the family relocated to Scotland and then London, where she trained at the Slade School of Art. In 1906, at age 25, a holiday trip to E...