Barbering, Tomb of Userhat

The Tomb of Userhat (TT 56) at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna depicts scenes of daily life at the Egyptian court, including this barbering scene in which men are shown having their hair cut in the shade of a tree — one of the most frequently reproduced images from ancient Egyptian art for its apparent casualness within the formal tomb painting context. Nina Davies's copy of this scene preserves the original's combination of hieratic convention and observed naturalistic detail that characterizes the finest New Kingdom private tomb painting. The barbering scene's documentary specificity — tools, postures, social interaction — makes it invaluable both as artistic record and as historical evidence.

Davies's facsimile rendering of the barbering scene captures the original's blend of formal Egyptian convention and observed social reality — the precise profile figures in standard Egyptian rendering alongside convincingly characterized expressions and postures that give the scene its famous life. Her watercolor achieves the warm sandy tones of the original's mineral palette.