Artwork
Syrians Bringing an Ingot and a Chariot, tomb of Rekhmire
Syrians Bringing an Ingot and a Chariot, tomb of Rekhmire is an unspecified painting by Nina M. Davies. It dates from 1504 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The wall painting from the tomb of the 18th‑dynasty official Rekhmire portrays three figures in profile: a man bearing a pole, another shouldering a metal ingot, and a third driving a two‑horse chariot. Rendered in muted earth tones with touches of green and blue, the composition is outlined in black and shows the characteristic flatness of Egyptian tomb art.
Subject & Meaning
The scene records a diplomatic exchange in which foreign Syrians present valuable goods—a heavy metal ingot and a chariot—to the Egyptian elite. Such depictions served to emphasize Egypt’s wealth and its connections with neighboring peoples, reinforcing the status of the tomb’s owner as a figure of political importance.
Technique & Style
Executed with mineral pigments applied to plaster, the painting employs a limited palette of reds, browns, whites, and occasional blue and green highlights. Figures are rendered in strict profile, with linear outlines and minimal modeling, reflecting the conventional Egyptian artistic canon that prioritised symbolic clarity over naturalistic depth.
History & Provenance
The image was recorded in 1504 by the British Egyptologist Nina M. Davies, who, together with her husband Norman de Garis Davies, produced detailed copies of tomb decorations during the early twentieth century. Their reproductions have been vital for preserving the visual record of the tomb’s fragile wall paintings, many of which have since suffered pigment loss and cracking.
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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