Women at a Banquet

Art Historical Context

Step into the lively world of ancient Egypt with *Women at a Banquet*, a meticulous 1925 tempera-on-paper copy by Nina de Garis. This vivid reproduction captures a scene from the New Kingdom tomb of Rekhmire, a powerful vizier of Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1425 B.C.), at full scale (47.5 × 66.5 cm). Davies, a renowned early 20th-century artist specialized in faithfully recreating fragile Egyptian wall paintings, preserving their colors and details for modern viewers. The original fresco depicts elegant women reveling at a banquet, embodying the "Drink-and-Be-Merry" ethos of elite Egyptian society. Such scenes from Rekhmire's Theban tomb highlight the joys of the afterlife, where revelers enjoy music, food, and wine amid offerings to ensure eternal feasting. Tempera, a durable medium blending pigment with egg yolk, allowed Davies to mimic the ancients' vibrant mineral-based paints, showcasing their flat, stylized figures and symbolic hierarchies. Acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1930, this work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art bridges millennia, offering a window into 18th Dynasty opulence and Rekhmire's status. It's a testament to how copies like Davies's safeguard cultural treasures from decay, inviting us to toast to Egypt's enduring celebration of life.

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...