Carpenter Making a Chair, Tomb of Rekhmire by Nina M. Davies

This isn't an ancient Egyptian painting; it's a meticulously crafted 20th-century drawing by Egyptologist Nina M. Davies, now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Titled *Carpenter Making a Chair, Tomb of Rekhmire*, it faithfully records a scene from an ancient Egyptian tomb painting, likely from the New Kingdom tomb of Rekhmire, dating back to roughly 1479 BCE.

Davies's drawing offers a window into ancient Egyptian daily life and craftsmanship. Look at the carpenter's focused expression and his skilled hands as he operates a bow drill, an ancient tool for shaping wood. He is shown constructing a chair, a practical object intended to accompany the tomb's occupant into the afterlife.

Nina M. Davies, along with her husband Norman de Garis Davies, dedicated their lives in the early to mid-twentieth century to documenting fragile ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. Their drawings are invaluable records, preserving details that might otherwise have been lost to time. These scenes were not just decorations; they ensured the deceased's eternal provision by depicting the continuation of earthly activities.

It's a testament to how art and scholarship can bridge millennia, bringing us face-to-face with the past.