Moving a Stone Block, Tomb of Rekhmire
ca. 1504–1425 B.C.
Medium
Paper, tempera paint, ink
Dimensions
facsimile: h. 27 cm (10 5/8 in); w. 47 cm (18 1/2 in), scale 1:1, framed: h. 30.5 cm (12 in); w. 50.2 cm (19 3/4 in)
Classification
Facsimile, Rekhmire (TT 100), stone masons, lever
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1931
Accession Number
31.6.33
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...
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...