Nemes
Appearance
The nemes is the striped headcloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt.[1] It covered the whole crown and back of the head and nape of the neck (sometimes also extending a little way down the back) and had lappets, two large flaps which hung down behind the ears and in front of both shoulders.[2] It was sometimes combined with the double crown,[3] as it is on the statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The earliest depiction of the nemes, along with a uraeus, is the ivory label of Den from the 1st Dynasty. It is not a crown in itself, but still symbolizes the pharaoh's power.
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Nemes in hieroglyphs | ||||
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Gallery
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Statue from Abu Simbel, wearing the double crown, the uraeus, and the nemes.
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The Younger Memnon, wearing only the nemes and uraeus (the crown may have been lost)
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The nemes in colour and in profile
Further reading
- Toby A. H. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, Routledge 1999
- Bruce Graham Trigger, Ancient Egypt: A Social History, Cambridge University Press 1983
- Fragment of a basalt Egyptian-style statue of Ptolemy I
References
- ^ Kathryn A. Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Routledge 1999, p.412
- ^ Watson Early Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard, Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, Mercer University Press 1990, p.679
- ^ Max Pol Fouchet, Rescued Treasures of Egypt, McGraw-Hill 1965, p.208
External links
- Media related to Nemes headcloth at Wikimedia Commons