Moving a Stone Block, Tomb of Rekhmire

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Egyptian Art galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we encounter *Moving a Stone Block* from the Tomb of Rekhmire, a vivid facsimile created by Nina de Garis around 1931. Dating to Egypt's New Kingdom (ca. 1504–1425 B.C., Dynasty 18), this scene captures a monumental moment from the Theban tomb of Rekhmire a powerful vizier under pharaohs like Thutmose III. It depicts workers hauling a massive stone block—likely for temple or pyramid construction—using wooden sledges, ropes, and levers, showcasing the ingenuity of ancient Egyptian engineering. Nina de Garis Davies, a pioneering Egyptologist and artist, meticulously reproduced this wall painting at a 1:1 scale using tempera paint, ink, and paper. Her watercolor facsimile preserves the original's vibrant colors and intricate details, which have faded over millennia on plaster walls. These copies, acquired through the Rogers Fund, offer invaluable insight into Rekhmire's tomb (TT100), renowned for its detailed depictions of statecraft, crafts, and labor. This artwork highlights the organized might of Egypt's workforce, blending artistry with documentary precision. Tomb scenes like this served not just as decoration but as eternal records of pharaonic power and daily life, reminding us how 3,500 years ago, human muscle and clever tools moved mountains.

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...