Harvest Scene Photo

Photographer’s Note

Harvest Scene

This is a small portion of a harvest scene from the tomb of Menna, scribe to Tuthmosis IV. A surveyor measures the crop, and tax collectors punish those who fail their quotas. Below is the threshing floor. The grain is winnowed with wooden paddles then scribes record its volume.

Menna was an Egyptian noble whose official title was “Scribe of the fields of the Lord of the Two Lands of Upper and Lower Egypt.”

He is thought to have been the overseer for the Temple of Amun at Karnak, inspecting the work on the land, supervising and recording the yield of the harvests, and prosecuting defaulters. Being a scriber gave Menna very high prestige in the ancient Egyptian society because few people could read and write in hieroglyphs.

Menna is buried in a private tomb located on the West Bank at Luxor on the hill of Sheikh ‘Abd el-Qurna in the central part of the ancient city of Thebes. The area, known as the Tombs of the Nobles, has 146 numbered tombs. These tombs are some of the most beautiful private tombs on the West Bank. They are referred to as being T-shaped. The entrance is a corridor leading into a wide vestibule, and then a short corridor leads into a long chapel with a small niche in its rear.

Menna’s tomb (No. 69), approximately 3,400 years old, was constructed around 1400-1390 BC during the reign of Tuthmosis IV and his successor Amenhotep III. The sophisticated paintings in this tomb are among the most complete in the Theban necropolis. They depict Menna’s everyday life in agriculture and his family life including his wife, Henuttawi, their two sons and four daughters.

ribeiroantonio, loves_summer, bakes888, belido, paololg, windosil, sacimar, Lay, paura, jmdias, Jakab, stego, gunbud, Philippe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ribeiroantonio (22214) 2009-03-14 14:52

Thanks for this beautifully taken picture. The colours and the sharpness are stunning. And the note is excellent too. Well done.
Antonio

batalay (21821) 2009-03-14 18:04

Hello Betty,

Again, your photograph puts to shame the reproduction of similar tomb paintings appearing in art history books. The colors are remarkably vivid, and despite the 300Kb size restriction, you have successfully optimized the quality of the shot, as if it were a 10Mb image. In the hot and dry Egyptian dessert, the colors have retained their fidelity. They are as vivid as if the mural had been painted for a modern Hollywood set, instead of having been created 170 generations ago. This photograph makes my day.

Warm regards,

Bulent

loves_summer (767) 2009-03-14 18:14

Hi Betty,
I like how colourful and detailed the paintings are. I also like that the texture of the wall is visible, which shows it's age. It is astounding that something painted this long ago can still be viewed and admired by people today. Interesting note to go along with this unique photo.
Thanks for sharing!

bakes888 (18353) 2009-03-14 21:38

Hi Betty. Fascinating stuff, when I look at this I wonder what it must have been like to have lived in such times. Nicely captured, good sharpness and details. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

belido (17932) 2009-03-15 12:02

Hi Betty,

I'm impressed by the quality of this one. It looks a perfect renderization of the ancient painting. Very good light and superb details. Well done!
Regards,
Carlos

paololg (15482) 2009-03-15 15:45

Ciao dear Betty,
this photo is a beautiful homage to the Egyptian art, stupendously reproduced with its colors orginali. I remember to have seen the tombs in the valley of the kings in 2006 and probably I will also have seen this painting. Excellent photo, considering that you have probably captured quickly it, because in the tombs is forbidden to photograph.
Compliments!
Ciao, have a nice week!
Paolo

windosil (858) 2009-03-15 16:00

Excellent photo of a picture that is not only interesting but beautiful too. A great note, too. Thank you.
Winifred

sacimar (8732) 2009-03-16 15:38

Hi Betty,

Interesting picture and note, the details of the image are great, good colours and sharpness, well seen,

Regards

Sergio

photoray (1555) 2009-03-16 20:32

Hello Betty,
Your excellent capture of ancient mural makes me envious, and makes me ready to plan a trip to Egypt. Having majored in history, I always enjoy the connections.

Good job,
Ray

Lay (26) 2009-03-17 4:41

Hello Betty
Thanks for this beautifully taken pinture. the sharpness and the colours are great and also is the note. Well done Betty
Regards
Maria

paura (40841) 2009-03-17 5:35

Betty,
Beautiful photojob to show the ancient artistic Egypt Harvest Scene. Colours are excellent. The note is also excellent. Thanks for sharing with us this interesting post.

Warm regards

Paulo

berek (29235) 2009-03-17 12:25

Hi Betty,
great details and clear picture. thanks for good note. have a nice week.
Burak

jmdias (20959) 2009-03-20 16:07

betty

beautiful view of this ancient painting. the ligh and sharpness are perfect and we can see each detail. I love this kind of thing, send us back in the time. TFS

hugs

jorge

Jakab (3622) 2009-03-22 11:48

Hello Betty,
once again a photo from you which significantly increase the value of TE. I find this posting excellent in all the three relevant aspects: the subject is important, the note informative and the quality perfect. I think a more detailed evaluation is not needed in the case of such a faultless job.
Congratulations!
Laszlo

stego (22514) 2009-03-24 9:52

Hi Betty,

A little lesson on Egyptian Archaeology beautifully illustrated by a high quality photo with outstanding colours and sharpness. One of the many things that amazed me when I visited Egyptian tombs was noticing how the colours of those frescos were so vivid despite of their age and we can see it here.

I wonder if it is just a coincidence that you have posted this one exactly after that of the Sistine Chapel.

Regards, José.

gunbud (28813) 2009-03-30 16:42

Hi Betty,
This beautiful Egyptian art is seen in crystal clear colors and exacting details.
The here is managed expertly rending effective sharpness and clarity.
Very infromative note about the ancient history surrounding this compelling work of art.
Regards, Tom

Philippe (11805) 2009-04-04 11:49

Hi, Betty. A very nice wall painting describing life in Ancient Egypt very well. The colours are very good and many details are visible. No overexposure in the white parts and good contrasts.
Have a nice weekend,
Philippe