Ipuy and Wife Receive Offerings from Their Children (substantially restored)

Art Historical Context

This exquisite facsimile captures a poignant scene from ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, created during the Ramesside period of Dynasty 19. Norman de Garis Davies, a pioneering Egyptologist and artist, rendered the original tomb painting in tempera on paper at one-third scale, preserving the vibrant colors and intricate details of a funerary offering ritual. In the composition, the tomb owner Ipuy and his wife sit before their children, who present food, drink, and other necessities believed essential for the afterlife. Hieroglyphs accompany the figures, invoking blessings and recording their identities. Davies’s meticulous copies, like this one acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1930, played a vital role in documenting Egyptian wall paintings at a time when many tombs faced damage or fading. The substantially restored nature of the scene reminds us how such facsimiles safeguard cultural heritage, allowing modern viewers to appreciate the warmth and intimacy of family bonds depicted in Ramesside art. Through this medium, the enduring Egyptian belief in eternal sustenance and familial devotion comes vividly to life.

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...