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Menna and his family fishing and fowling
Facsimile of a wall painting from the tomb of Menna, Thebes,
Dynasty 18, ca. 1400-1350 B.C., by Nina de Garis Davies, 1924
Tempera on paper, 74 x 39 1/2 in.
Rogers Fund, 1930
30.4.48

During the 1920s artists who were members of the Museum's expedition painted exact copies of tomb wall paintings, such as this facsimile of a painting from the tomb of a man named Menna. The copyist was Nina de Garis Davies, the most sensitive and gifted of all artists making facsimiles of this kind. Her ability to reproduce the very brush strokes of the ancient painter makes looking at the facsimile an experience almost equal to seeing the original. The value of all facsimiles made in the 1920s has increased because in many cases the condition of the actual paintings in the tombs has deteriorated considerably in the intervening years.

The Egyptians believed that the pleasures of life could be made permanent through scenes like this one of Menna hunting in the Nile marshes. In this painting Menna, the largest figure, is shown twice. He is spear fishing on the right and flinging throwing sticks at birds on the left. His wife, the second-largest figure, and his daughter and son are with him. By their gestures they assist him and express their affection. The son on the left is drawing attention with a pointed finger to the two little predators (a cat and an ichneumon) that are about to steal the birds' eggs. Pointed fingers were a magical gesture for averting evil in ancient Egypt, and the attack on the nest may well be a reminder of the vulnerability of life. Overall, scenes of life in the marshes, which were depicted in many New Kingdom tombs, also had a deeper meaning. The Nile marshes growing out of the fertile mud of the river and the abundant wildlife supported by that environment symbolized rejuvenation and eternal life.

Egyptian artists must have been familiar with the wildlife of the marshes because they carefully portrayed the birds, fish, crocodile, mouse, wildcat, and butterflies in this painting, paying keen attention to their appearances and habits. The crowd of animals, the bright colors, and the active poses of Menna create a lively scene, as do the repeating patterns of the papyrus bush and the ripples in the water.

However, this scene is not what one would actually see from one point of view and at one moment in time. The figures are portrayed from both the front and the side. Furthermore, the water is seen from above, while the aquatic animals are in profile and are shown as if they were not in the water but on its surface. The relative sizes of the people and wildlife indicate their importance to Menna. It is amusing to note that the two fish Menna is about to spear are much larger than the nearby crocodile, and the water rises and forms a kind of hill, so it is obvious that Menna is about to make a magnificent catch.

The activities of Menna and his family, which must have taken place over a period of time, are combined in one ideal picture in which every object is very clear. The horizontal organization of the composition is balanced by the vertical thrust of the papyrus plants in the center. The figures in Menna's family are ordered within two horizontal rows, or registers, and face toward the center in nearly identical groups that fit within a triangular shape. The forms are clearly defined by thin, dark outlines and are set against a plain white background.

Notice: activities, poses, animal life, colors, patterns

Discuss: multiple points of view, arrangement and scale of figures, function, levels of meaning

Compare with: View of Luxor looking west across the Nile, Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet, and West wall from a chapel built by Sety I for his father, Ramesses I

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