Artwork
Provisions from Nubia Stored in the Temple, Tomb of Rekhmire
Provisions from Nubia Stored in the Temple, Tomb of Rekhmire is an unspecified painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Nina M. Davies. It dates from 1490 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition reflects the broader theme of the afterlife, where material abundance and symbolic gifts sustain the deceased’s journey beyond death.
The scene shows stored provisions from Nubia within the temple precinct of Rekhmire’s tomb, symbolizing the wealth and foreign tribute that supported the funerary cult. A monkey figure appears among the offerings, adding a playful yet ritualistic element that underscores the exotic nature of the tribute. The composition reflects the broader theme of the afterlife, where material abundance and symbolic gifts sustain the deceased’s journey beyond death.
Technique & Style
The work is a tempera painting on plaster, executed as a tomb relief scene depicting provisions from Nubia. It was created in 1479 by Nina M. Davies, whose hand is evident in the simplified, linear rendering of figures and the characteristic profile poses of the monkey and other attendants rendered in flat planes of ochre and brown pigment. The figures are arranged in a continuous register, their stylized forms conforming to Middle Kingdom narrative conventions, with handling restricted to the raised relief surface that was later overpainted for museum display.
The composition emphasizes hierarchical order through scale and placement, while the stylized treatment of animals reflects a conventionalized iconography tied to the afterlife economy.
History & Provenance
The artwork titled Provisions from Nubia Stored in the Temple is a painted facsimile created by Nina M. Davies. It reproduces a scene originally located in the Tomb of Rekhmire, cataloged as TT 100. The source material dates to the year 1479.
The facsimile itself entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently held under the accession number 30.4.87.
The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was accessioned under the number 30.4.87.
The work has been exhibited in the museum's Egyptian galleries as part of displays focusing on the Theban Tombs.
The painting is a facsimile of a scene from the Tomb of Rekhmire (TT100) in Thebes, Egypt.
Overview
The painted relief originates from the tomb of the 18th‑dynasty official Rekhmire, a high‑ranking vizier whose burial chamber is located in Thebes. The scene records a group of monkeys amid stored provisions, rendered in the characteristic flat, vivid palette of New Kingdom funerary art.
Context
Rekhmire’s tomb contains numerous depictions of daily life, offerings, and administrative duties, reflecting his status and the belief that such images would provide sustenance in the afterlife. The inclusion of monkeys, associated with Nubian trade, underscores Egypt’s economic links with its southern neighbor during the New Kingdom.
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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