Detail from a Hunting Scene Including a Hyena, Tomb of Intef

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of ancient Egypt with this exquisite *Detail from a Hunting Scene Including aena* from the Tomb of Intef, faithfully reproduced by Nina de Garis. Dating to the New Kingdom's Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1458 B.C.), the original wall painting adorned the Theban tomb of Intef, a high-ranking official. Such hunting scenes were a staple of elite tomb art, symbolizing the deceased's mastery over nature, vitality in the afterlife, and harmony with the wild—here, a hyena adds a thrilling touch of ferocity amid hunters and prey. Nina de Garis Davies, a pioneering 20th-century Egyptologist and artist, created this tempera-on-paper facsimile (38 x 64 cm) in meticulous detail, capturing the ancient frescoes' luminous colors and dynamic compositions before they faded. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Rogers Fund in 1931, her work preserves the flat, stylized figures and rhythmic patterns typical of Egyptian art, where profile views and symbolic scale conveyed eternal narratives. These tomb vignettes offer a window into Nile Valley life, blending ritual with realism to ensure prosperity beyond death. Marvel at how Davies's skilled replication revives this 3,500-year-old drama for modern eyes!

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...