Facsimile of the painting at the head end of the sarcophagus of Aashyt 2051 BC

Charles K. Wilkinson made this facsimile of a painting on a sarcophagus in, well, we don't know exactly when, but probably sometime in the mid 20th century. What strikes me is the carefulness of the rendering, the way he's attended to the original's geometry with simple line and flat colour. Look at the green in this piece. It's almost like a child's colouring book, yet there is something so evocative about the way Wilkinson allows the ground to show through. There is a real sensitivity here, an interest in the physical processes of how this was put together. For me, what's so wonderful about seeing something like this is that it reminds me that the history of art is a history of copying as much as it is of originality. This piece reminds me of the work of contemporary artists like Sarah Crowner, who use a similar vocabulary of geometric forms to create a modern take on ancient styles. It shows us that art is a conversation across time, with each generation building on the work of those who came before.