Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II, served as one of his principal queens and is depicted with him throughout his reign. He built a small rock-cut temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his own and a beautifully painted tomb for her in the Valley of the Queens at Thebes.

This facsimile of one of the paintings from her tomb, made by Nina deGaris Davies of the Graphic Section of the Museum's Egyptian Expedition, shows the queen seated on a high-backed chair in front of a game table, where she is playing draughts. She wears an elaborately pleated and fringed gown of sheer linen with full capelike sleeves tied under her breast and a vulture headdress.

Open full-size image