Trimming Wood with an Adze, Tomb of Rekhmire

The painting was created in 1504 as part of the decorated Theban Tomb 100 of the Egyptian official Rekhmire, a vizier of the New Kingdom. It was executed by the American Egyptologist Nina M. Davies, who produced the work as a facsimile for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). The piece remained within the tomb until its documentation and acquisition by the MET, which now holds it in its collection in New York.

The work is classified as a painting and is catalogued under the MET accession number 31.6.28. Its dating and authorship are confirmed by both the internal museum record and the Wikidata entry, which note the inception date of 1504 and the creator’s name.

The facsimile painting Trimming Wood with an Adze, documenting a scene from the Tomb of Rekhmire (TT 100), is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is catalogued under accession number 31.6.28. The work was produced in 1504 by Nina M. Davies (also recorded as Nina de Garis Davies) as part of her documentation of Egyptian tomb decoration.

No exhibition history beyond its institutional housing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is documented in the available sources.

This painting, "Trimming Wood with an Adze," originates from the Tomb of Rekhmire and dates to approximately 1504 BCE. It depicts a scene of daily life and craftsmanship from ancient Egypt. The work is not the original wall painting but a meticulous copy made by Egyptologist and illustrator Nina M. Davies.

This important documentation is now housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, offering a window into ancient Egyptian practices.

Nina M. Davies's contributions were vital to the field of Egyptology. Her detailed and sensitive watercolor reproductions of tomb paintings provided invaluable records, often serving as the primary source for scholars studying these ancient sites. Through her work with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Expedition, she captured the nuances of ancient Egyptian artistry and daily life, ensuring that these visual narratives endured beyond the original, often deteriorating, wall surfaces.

The enduring legacy of Nina M. Davies lies in her precise and artistic documentation, which continues to inform our understanding of ancient Egyptian culture. Her copies are not mere facsimiles but interpretive works that convey the spirit and detail of the originals. They remain indispensable resources for art historians and Egyptologists, offering a window into the visual world of the New Kingdom and preserving the aesthetic and historical significance of artworks like "Trimming Wood with an Adze" for future generations.