Netting Birds, Tomb of Khnumhotep
ca. 1897–1878 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
facsimile: h. 101 cm (39 3/4 in); w. 260 cm (102 3/8 in) Scale 1:1 framed: h. 104.1 cm (41 in.); w. 264.5 cm (104 1/8 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Khnumhotep (Beni Hasan 3), fowling
Period
Middle Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.8.18
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Middle Kingdom Egypt *Netting Birds* from the Tomb of Khhotep, a stunning facsimile capturing a lively wall painting from Dynasty 12 (ca. 1897–1878 B.C.). Discovered in the elite tomb at Beni Hasan, scene depicts men skillfully netting birds amid lush riverine settings, accompanied by hieroglyphic inscriptions Such tomb decorations were essential for the afterlife, ensuring the deceased nobleman Khnumhotep's eternal provisions through vivid depictions of daily life and leisure activities like fowling. Rendered in the classic Egyptian style of flat, symbolic figu...
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...