Ramp Building Scene, Tomb of Rekhmire

Art Historical Context

Step into the bustling world of ancient Egypt with this vivid *Ramp Building Scene* from the Tomb of Rekhmire, a masterful facsimile created by Nina de Garis Davies. Dating to the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty (. 1504–1425 B.C.), the original wall painting adorned the tomb of Rekhmire, a powerful vizier who served under pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenep II. It captures workers hauling massive stone blocks up an earthen ramp—a common engineering feat used to construct towering temples and pyramids—highlighting the organized labor and ingenuity of Egyptian builders. These tomb scenes were more than decoration; they held profound cultural and religious significance. By depicting everyday activities like ramp construction, Egyptians ensured that essential crafts continued in the afterlife, reflecting the society's reverence for order (ma'at) and its monumental architecture. The detailed figures, tools, and supervision showcase the hierarchical workforce, from laborers to overseers, offering a rare glimpse into New Kingdom daily life and technology. Nina de Garis Davies, a pioneering 20th-century Egyptologist, rendered this 1:1 scale copy in tempera on paper, preserving the fresco-like vibrancy of the originals with meticulous accuracy. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Rogers Fund in 1948, it bridges millennia, inviting us to marvel at Egypt's enduring legacy of artistry and ambition.

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...