Artwork
Wood and Leather Craftsmen, Tomb of Hapu

Wood and Leather Craftsmen, Tomb of Hapu is an unspecified painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Nina M. Davies. It dates from 1400 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nina M.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a scene of daily labor featuring craftsmen engaged in the production of wood and leather goods.
The work depicts a scene of daily labor featuring craftsmen engaged in the production of wood and leather goods. As a facsimile of a painting from the Tomb of Hapu, the imagery illustrates specific artisans at work, capturing the practical activities associated with these trades in ancient Egypt. The subject matter focuses on the representation of men performing their professional duties, serving as a visual record of the craftsmanship and economic functions present in the tomb's iconography.
Technique & Style
The painting titled Wood and Leather Craftsmen, Tomb of Hapu, created by Nina M. Davies in 1400, is classified as a painting and portrays craftsmen engaged in woodworking and leatherwork. The composition shows figures in profile, emphasizing the activities of cutting wood and shaping leather, rendered with linear clarity typical of Egyptian tomb art. The work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection and was documented as a facsimile of the original tomb scene.
Its formal style reflects a focus on activity and material specificity, using a flat pictorial space and limited coloration to convey function.
History & Provenance
The relief facsimile Wood and Leather Craftsmen, from the Tomb of Hapu (TT 66), was created by Nina de Garis Davies in 1400 as a painted reproduction of the original New Kingdom tomb scene.
The work entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 30, 1915, as part of its holdings of facsimile paintings by Davies. It remains in the museum’s collection, where it is cataloged under accession 30.4.150.
The facsimile painting Wood and Leather Craftsmen, Tomb of Hapu is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with the accession number 30.4.150.
It has not been recorded as part of any public exhibitions in the provided sources.
Overview
Nina M. Davies's painting, "Wood and Leather Craftsmen, Tomb of Hapu," meticulously reproduces a scene from an ancient Egyptian tomb dating to approximately 1400 BCE. This early to mid-twentieth-century work captures artisans engaged in daily labor, specifically woodworking and leathercraft. It serves as a valuable record of New Kingdom life and artistic conventions, now preserved within the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Context
The original scene, located in the Tomb of Hapu, dates to the New Kingdom period around 1400 BCE. Tomb paintings frequently depicted aspects of daily life, including various professions and agricultural activities, intended to ensure the deceased's prosperity in the afterlife. This particular panel offers insight into the skilled labor required for essential crafts like boat building and chariot construction, reflecting the economic and social structures of ancient Egypt.
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…


















