Egyptian Wall-Painting Fragment

SKU: MS.0079

Origin: Egypt
Circa: New Kingdom, 1550 BC - 1070 BC
Dimensions: 13.4" Height (34 cm)
Medium: Painted Plaster

This beautifully preserved fragment of a wall painting is executed on plaster with an ochre and blue ground, depicting an agricultural scene with a man in profile to the right.  He wears a belted kilt and short wig, and is supporting a basket on his left shoulder with both hands. He stands amidst tall stalks of grain, with a pile of grain before him, and the arm of another figure holding a staff behind him.  In the register just below we see the head of another man under his feet.  Despite the passage of thousands of years, the bold, eye catching colors and delicately rendered details found in this simple composition bring an everyday scene from ancient Egypt to life with astonishing vitality.

Sir Daniel Donohue and Countess Bernadine Donohue (1904-1968), Los Angeles, acquired in Paris before her death. The Collection of Sir Daniel Donohue; Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, 4-5 April 2011, lot 304.

Intact as preserved. A hairline crack running horizontally across the middle of the fragment. Losses along the edges overall, with minor cracks running from the edge. A larger area of loss on the left side below the partially preserved arm with the staff. Some fill to the edges on the bottom right and above the basket. Overall losses to the pigment and minor incrustation throughout. 3 old stickers on the back of the plaster remain. The back with modern plaster for stabilization.

For harvest scenes (general) see Wilkinson, Charles K. 1979. Egyptian Wall Paintings: The Metropolitan Museum's Collection of Facsimiles, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, new ser., vol. 36, no. 4 (Spring), New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 42–43, fig. 46. For a similar depiction see Francesco Tiridritti, 1999, Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, pp. 164.

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New Kingdom

Egyptian Wall-Painting Fragment

New Kingdom

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