Cretans Bringing Gifts of Metal and Jewelry, Tomb of Rekhmire
ca. 1504–1425 B.C.
Medium
Paper, tempera paint, ink
Dimensions
H. 45 cm (17 11/16 in); w. 42 cm (16 9/16 in), framed: h. 48.3 cm (19 in); w. 45.4 cm (17 7/8 in)
Classification
Facsimile, Rekhmire (TT 100)
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1931
Accession Number
31.6.45
Tags
About this artwork
This work by artist Nina de Garis Davies exemplifies the artistic achievements of ca. 1504–1425 B.C.. Created in paper, tempera paint, ink, this painting showcases the artist's technical command and aesthetic sensibility. The medium offered particular qualities of color, texture, and luminosity that artists exploited to achieve specific visual effects and expressive goals. Measuring h. 45 cm, the work's scale contributes significantly to its visual impact and viewing experience. Painting techn...
Art Historical Context
This exquisite watercolor facsimile by Nina de Garis Davies vividly recreates a tribute scene from the Tomb ofhmire in Thebes, Egypt, dating to the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty (ca. 1504–1425 B.C.). Titled *Cretans Bringing Gifts of Metal and Jewelry it depicts Minoan emissaries from Crete presenting ornate vases, gleaming jewelry, and metalwork to Egyptian officials. Such wall paintings in elite tombs like Rekhmire's—belonging to a powerful vizier—celebrated the pharaoh's dominion and the flow of luxury goods through international trade, highlighting Egypt's golden age of prosperity under ruler...
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...