Nebamun was an Egyptian "scribe and counter of grain" during the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....

. His tomb

Tomb of Nebamun

The Tomb of Nebamun, located somewhere in the Theban Necropolis, near Luxor, in Egypt, was the source of a number of decorated tomb scenes currently in storage in the British Museum, London. Amongst the best known of the paintings is the Pond in a Garden false fresco painting....

 in Thebes

Thebes, Egypt

Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...

, the location of which is now lost, featured the famous Pond in a Garden fresco, executed a secco.

Nebamun's name is translated as "My Lord is Amun" and he is thought to have lived c. 1500 bc. The paintings were hacked from the tomb wall and purchased by a British collector who in turn sold them to the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

in 1821. The collector died in poverty without ever revealing the source location of the paintings. The depictions are highly symbolic and thematically related to a joyful afterlife.

In 2009 the British Museum opened up a new gallery dedicated to the display of the restored eleven wall fragments from Nebamun's tomb, described as one of the Museum's greatest treasures.

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