Userhat Kneeling Before Osiris and the Goddess of the West, Tomb of Userhat
A.D. 1909–1910; original ca. 1294–1279 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
Facsimile: 67 × 91 cm (26 3/8 × 35 13/16 in.), Scale 1:1, Framed: 71.1 × 96.2 cm (28 × 37 7/8 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Userhat (TT 51), Osiris, goddess of West
Period
Twentieth Century; original New Kingdom, Ramesside
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1930
Accession Number
30.4.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the tomb of Userhat, a-ranking official from Egypt's New Kingdom (Dyn 19, ca. 1294–1279 B.C.), this vivid scene captures Userhat kneeling in reverence before Osiris, the god of the afterlife, and the Goddess of the—a protective deity associated with the necropolis and eternal life. Such funerary images were essential in ancient Egyptian belief, ensuring the deceased's safe passage to the underworld through ritual adoration and offerings. Rendered in the classic Ramesside style, the original wall painting exemplifies the era's mastery of hieroglyphic integration, vibrant pigments, and ideali...
About the Artist
Norman de Garis Davies · 1865–1941
Norman de Garis Davies (1865–1941) was a British Egyptologist and archaeological artist whose meticulous copies of ancient Egyptian tomb paintings constitute one of the most important records of pharaonic art ever made. Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, he originally trained for the ministry before being drawn into Egyptology through his involvement with the Egypt Exploration Fund in the 1890...