Dog Named Ebony Under Owner's Chair, Tomb of Duaerneheh
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
facsimile: h. 24.2 cm (9 1/2 in); w. 18.5 cm (9 1/2 in), scale: unrecorded (probably 1:1)
Classification
Facsimile, dog named Ebony, Duauneheh (TT 125)
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1939
Accession Number
39.4.1
Art Historical Context
This charming facsimile captures a tender detail from an ancient Egyptian tomb painting in the burial chamber of Duaerneheh, a high official during Egypt’s New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1458 B.C.). Beneath the owner’s chair sits a sleek black dog, affectionately labeled “Ebony,” a name that likely refers to its dark coat. Such personal vignettes of beloved pets were sometimes included in tomb decoration to ensure the deceased enjoyed familiar comforts in the afterlife. Created by British artist Nina de Garis Davies, the work is rendered in tempera on paper at roughly the original scale. D...
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...