Foreigners, Tomb of Menkheperraseneb

Art Historical Context

Step into ancient Egypt with *Foreigners, from the Tomb of Menkheperraseneb*, a meticulous 1925 facsimile by Nina de Garis Davies. vibrant tempera-on-paper copy46 × 42 cm, at 1:1 scale) captures a scene from the original New Kingdom wall painting, dating to ca. 1479–1425 B.C. in Dynasty 18. The tomb belonged to Menkheperraseneb, a high-ranking official likely serving under pharaohs like Thutmose III, whose reign expanded Egypt's empire through conquests. Davies, a pioneering Egyptologist and artist, created this work during excavations at Thebes (modern Luxor), preserving details of foreigners—probably tribute-bearing emissaries—that vividly illustrate Egypt's dominance over distant lands. Rendered in the iconic Egyptian style, the figures feature stylized profiles, bold hieroglyphic inscriptions, and symbolic proportions emphasizing status, with men prominently displayed amid symbolic motifs. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Rogers Fund in 1930, this piece highlights the cultural importance of tomb art: not mere decoration, but eternal narratives ensuring the deceased's prosperity in the afterlife. Davies's faithful reproduction safeguards these fading treasures, offering us a window into the grandeur of pharaonic power and international diplomacy.

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...