Barbering, Tomb of Userhat
A.D. 1922; original ca. 1427–1400 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
Facsimile: H. 45 × W. 73 cm (17 11/16 × 28 3/4 in.); Scale: 1:1; Frame: H. 48.5 × W. 76.2 cm (19 1/8 × 30 in.)
Classification
Facsimile, Userhat (TT 56), barber
Period
Twentieth Century; original New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1930
Accession Number
30.4.40
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This tempera facsimile captures a lively scene of barbering from the tomb of Userhat, a high-ranking official who served during Egypt’s New Kingdom, Dynasty 18. Created around 1427–1400 B.C., the original wall painting belongs to a long tradition of tomb decoration that illustrated everyday activities, ensuring the deceased would enjoy familiar comforts in the afterlife. The intimate subject—men receiving haircuts and grooming—offers a rare glimpse into the personal routines of ancient Egyptian society. Nina de Garis Davies produced this exact-scale copy in 1922 using tempera on paper, meticu...
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...