Neferhotep and Wife Offering, Tomb of Neferhotep

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of ancient Egypt with *Neferhotep and Wife Offering from the Tomb of Neferhotep, a facsimile created by Nina de Garis Davies. to around 1327–1323 B.C. during the New Kingdom's Amarna (Dynasty 18), this tempera-on-paper copy at a 2:3 scale a classic tomb wall painting. It depicts Neferhotep, likely a noble official, and his wife presenting offerings—symbolizing devotion to the gods and ensuring prosperity in the afterlife. Such scenes were essential in Egyptian tombs, guiding the deceased's eternal journey. The Amarna Period, under Pharaoh Akhenaten, revolutionized Egyptian art with its bold naturalism: elongated figures, expressive faces, and dynamic poses that broke from rigid conventions. Davies, a pioneering early-20th-century artist, meticulously reproduced these colors and details from the original Theban tomb, preserving fragile ancient frescoes for modern viewers. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Rogers Fund in 1931, this 77 × 60 cm work offers a window into a transformative era of artistic experimentation tied to religious reforms. Fun fact: Amarna art's intimacy humanizes elites like Neferhotep, blending spirituality with everyday life, making this facsimile not just art, but a time capsule of innovation.

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...