Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky 1390 BC

Nina de Garis Davies made this facsimile titled "Eight Ceiling Patterns, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky". The watercolor on paper shows eight different patterns, each contained within a rectangular frame. The designs employ geometric shapes and stylized floral motifs in a palette of yellow, red, green, and blue. The patterns reveal a sophisticated understanding of symmetry and repetition, fundamental elements of visual language. Each pattern uses these basic visual units, which serve as signs, to generate complex ornamental forms. For example, a diamond shape recurs in the top right pattern, varying only in its coloration. The image is a kind of visual mathematics, where variations within a structural framework create complex visual statements. Consider the tension between the individual elements and their collective arrangement. Here we see the patterns together, but originally they were part of a much larger architectural context. It’s an exercise in decoding the syntax of ancient design and asking how meaning is generated through the interplay of form and structure. The patterns invite us to reflect on how humans create meaning through the manipulation of fundamental visual forms.