Sandal Maker, Tomb of Rekhmire
ca. 1479–1400 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
Facsimile: H. 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); W. 39.5 cm (15 9/16 in.), Scale 1:1, Framed: H. 31 cm (12 3/16 in.); W. 65.6 cm (25 3/16 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Rekhmire (TT 100), leather work, sandals
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.8.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the opulent Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100) at Thebes, dating to Egypt's New Kingdom (ca. 1479–1400 B.C.), vivid wall paintings immortalized the daily labors of artisans, ensuring their crafts served the deceased vizier in the afterlife. facsimile captures a sandal maker at work—a skilled craftsman shaping leather soles and straps amid tools and hides—highlighting the meticulous division of labor in ancient Egyptian society. Rekhmire, a high-ranking official under pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhotep II of Dynasty 18, commissioned these scenes to showcase prosperity and tribute-bearing workshops, o...
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...