Cretans Bringing Gifts, Tomb of Rekhmire
ca. 1479–1425 B.C.
Medium
Paper, tempera paint, ink
Dimensions
Facsimile: H. 47 × W. 39 cm (18 1/2 × 15 3/8 in.), Scale 1:1, Framed: H. 48.6 × W. 41 cm (19 1/8 × 16 1/8 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Rekhmire (TT 100), foreigners, Keftiu
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1931
Accession Number
31.6.42
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of ancient Egypt with *Cretans Bringing Gifts from the Tomb of Rekire, a meticulous 1:1 scale created by Nina de Garis Davies. Dating to the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty (. 1479–1425 B.C.), this captures Minoan emissaries from Crete presenting luxurious tribute to Egyptian officials. Rendered on paper with tempera paint and ink it vividly recreates the tomb's original wall paintings, showcasing the Egyptians' masterful use of bold colors, hierarchical scale, and stylized figures in profile—those iconic "walk-like-an-Egyptian" poses that convey status and motion with e...
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...