Artwork
Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky
Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky is an unspecified painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Nina M. Davies. It dates from 1396 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The work titled *Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky* is a painted decoration from the interior of an ancient Egyptian tomb.
The work titled *Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky* is a painted decoration from the interior of an ancient Egyptian tomb. It depicts a series of eight distinct ceiling motifs arranged in two horizontal rows of four. The piece is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and was documented by early‑twentieth‑century Egyptologists Nina M. Davies and Norman de Garis Davies.
Subject & Meaning
Each of the eight panels combines geometric forms—such as zigzags and concentric circles—with stylized circular motifs. The designs serve a decorative function within the burial chamber, contributing to the visual program that surrounded the deceased, Nebamun and his wife Ipuky, and reflecting broader symbolic concerns of the period.
Technique & Style
The patterns are rendered in a limited palette of earthy hues, primarily brown, blue, and green, applied with fine brushwork that emphasizes line and surface texture. The overall composition shows the influence of Byzantine iconography, evident in the stylized arrangement and the use of repeated ornamental bands.
History & Provenance
The tomb’s wall paintings were recorded by the Davies couple during fieldwork in Egypt in the early to mid‑1900s. Their detailed drawings and photographs facilitated the work’s acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s Egyptian collection.
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…
Menna and Family Hunting in the Marshes, Tomb of Menna
Amenhotep III and his Mother, Mutemwia, in a Kiosk
Queen Nefertari Playing Senet
Preparing Dough, Tomb of Rekhmire
Nakhtamun's Funeral Procession, Tomb of Nakhtamun
Ramesses III and Prince Amenherkhepeshef before Hathor
Sifting Meal, Tomb of Rekhmire
Funeral Procession, Tomb of Pairy