Artwork
Masons Squaring a Block, Tomb of Rekhmire
Masons Squaring a Block, Tomb of Rekhmire is an unspecified painting by Nina M. Davies. It dates from 1490 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nina M.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This scene captures the practical work of masons and represents the broader category of construction activities within the ancient Egyptian context.
The painting depicts men engaged in the labor of bricklaying, specifically shown squaring a block. This scene captures the practical work of masons and represents the broader category of construction activities within the ancient Egyptian context. As a restored copy created for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the work illustrates the daily tasks performed by artisans, emphasizing the manual effort involved in building projects.
The imagery focuses on the figures and their specific interaction with the materials, highlighting the depiction of work as a central theme.
History & Provenance
The artwork titled Masons Squaring a Block is a restored copy of a scene originally located in the Tomb of Rekhmire (TT 100). It depicts bricklayers at work and was created by the artist Nina M. Davies. The original scene dates to approximately 1479, reflecting the period of the tomb's creation.
The copy itself is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held under the accession number 31.6.19.
The painting is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its accession number, recorded as 31.6.19, reflects the museum’s internal inventory for the work. The piece was created in 1479 by Nina M. Davies as a restored copy of a scene from the tomb of Rekhmire (TT 100).
Exhibition records for the painting are not noted in the sources consulted, indicating that it has not been featured in publicly listed museum exhibitions to date.
Overview
Nina M. Davies's illustration, "Masons Squaring a Block, Tomb of Rekhmire," captures a scene of ancient Egyptian labor. Created in the early to mid-twentieth century, this drawing is part of a larger body of work by Davies, an Egyptologist and illustrator dedicated to documenting historical artworks. It is housed in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, offering a modern interpretation of an ancient subject.
Technique & Style
Davies rendered this scene as a black-and-white drawing, deliberately adopting the aesthetic conventions of ancient Egyptian art. The figures are characterized by a sense of stiffness and flatness, echoing the two-dimensional representations found in original tomb paintings and carvings. This stylistic choice allows the modern illustration to convey the visual language of the historical period it aims to record and preserve.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Egyptologists Nina M. Davies (6 January 1881 – 21 April 1965) and Norman de Garis Davies (1865–5 November 1941) were a married couple of illustrators and copyists who worked in the early and mid-twentieth century…
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