The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archaeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, belonging, at least nominally, to the category of cosmetic palettes. It contains some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. The tablet is thought by some to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the king Narmer. Along with the Scorpion Macehead and the Narmer Maceheads, also found together in the main deposit at Nekhen, the Narmer Palette provides one of the earliest known depictions of an Egyptian king. On one side, the king is depicted with the bulbed White Crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, and the other side depicts the king wearing the level Red Crown of Lower (northern) Egypt, which also makes it the earliest known example of a king wearing both types of headdress.[1] The Palette shows many of the classic conventions of Ancient Egyptian art, which must already have been formalized by the time of the Palette's creation.[2] The Egyptologist Bob Brier has referred to the Narmer Palette as "the first historical document in the world".[3]
The Palette, which has survived five millennia in almost perfect condition, was discovered by British archeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green, in what they called the Main Deposit in the Temple of Horus at Nekhen, during the dig season of 1897–98.[4][5][6] Also found at this dig were the Narmer Macehead and the Scorpion Macehead.[7] The exact place and circumstances of these finds were not recorded very clearly by Quibell and Green. In fact, Green's report placed the Palette in a different layer one or two yards away from the deposit, which is considered to be more accurate on the basis of the original excavation notes.[8] It has been suggested that these objects were royal donations made to the temple.[9] Nekhen, or Hierakonpolis, was one of four power centers in Upper Egypt that preceded the consolidation of Upper Egypt at the end of the Naqada III period.[10] Hierakonpolis's religious importance continued long after its political role had declined.[11] Palettes were typically used for grinding cosmetics, but this palette is too large and heavy (and elaborate) to have been created for personal use and was probably a ritual or votive object, specifically made for donation to, or use in, a temple. One theory is that it was used to grind cosmetics to adorn the statues of the deities.[12]
The Narmer Palette is part of the permanent collection of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[13] It is one of the initial exhibits which visitors have been able to see when entering the museum.[13] It has the Journal d'Entrée number JE32169 and the Catalogue Général number CG14716.
^Friedman, Renée. “City of the Hawk.” Archaeology, vol. 56, no. 6, 2003, pp. 50–56. Accessed 7 Jul. 2022.
^Wilkinson, Toby A. H. Early Dynastic Egypt. p.6 Routledge, London. 1999. ISBN 0-203-20421-2
^Brier, Bob. Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, A. Hoyt Hobbs 1999, p.202
^[1] J. E. Quibell, Hierakonpolis pt. I. Plates of discoveries in 1898 by J. E. Quibell, with notes by W. M. F. Petrie, Quaritch, 1900
^[2] J. E. Quibell, Hierakonpolis pt. II. Plates of discoveries, 1898–99, with Description of the site in detail, by F. W. Green., Quaritch, 1902
^The Ancient Egypt Site – The Narmer Palette Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine accessed September 19, 2007
^Millet, N. B. “The Narmer Macehead and Related Objects.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 27, 1990, pp. 53–59
^Shaw, Ian. Exploring Ancient Egypt. p.33 Oxford University Press, 2003.
^Bard, Kathryn A. The Emergence of the Egyptian State, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Ian Shaw, p.61. Oxford University Press, 2000
^Wilkinson 1999, pp. 36–41.
^Friedman 2001, pp. 98–100, volume 2.
^Brier, Bob. Great Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, The Great Courses lecture series
^ abShaw, Ian. Ancient Egypt: A Very Short Introduction. p.4. Oxford Press, 2004.
The NarmerPalette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archaeological find, dating from...
Narmer on the NarmerPalette in which he is shown wearing a bull's tail as a symbol of power. The date commonly given for the beginning of Narmer's reign...
Narmer macehead The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head. It was found in the "main deposit" in the temple area of the ancient...
Mesopotamia (circa 3500–3000 BC). Examples include the NarmerPalette and the Oxford Palette. The cylinder seal of Uruk (image above) displays the motif...
assemblages. Notable decorative palettes are: The Cosmetic palette in the form of a Nile tortoise The NarmerPalette, often thought to depict the unification...
iconography is similar to the depiction of the pharaoh Narmer on the obverse side of the NarmerPalette. The king is preceded by servants, the first in row...
theme of the NarmerPalette, is about the pharaoh of the newly unified Ancient Egypt represented in two scenes, (palette obverse, palette reverse). On...
or ornamental cosmetic palettes of ancient Egypt. Along with the others in this series of palettes, including the NarmerPalette, it includes some of the...
other objects bearing royal names, the most important being the NarmerPalette and Narmer Macehead, as well as Den and Qa'a king lists. No detailed records...
relation to , Hathor-sistrum, (the shape of the cow's head, as on the NarmerPalette), and . The only adornment is a "typographic ligature" style combination...
Egyptological consensus inconclusively identifies Menes with the Naqada III ruler Narmer or his successor, the First Dynasty pharaoh Hor-Aha. The commonly-used name...
Crown NarmerPalette, front The vertical letter N, as preposition, or determinative in the Egyptian language Close-up of NarmerPalette, Pharaoh Narmer with...
deposit, the NarmerPalette, now is thought probably not to have been in the main deposit at all. Quibell's report made in 1900 put the palette in the deposit...
well-known NarmerPalette, shown here for comparison and to demonstrate the probable size. NarmerPalette: bull overpowering warrior motif, (similar) Narmer Palette:...
shard from Naqada, and later, Narmer is shown wearing the red crown on both the Narmer Macehead and the NarmerPalette. The white crown of Upper Egypt...
BC. The palettes later adopted a rounder shape like the NarmerPalette. King Narmer'spalette was the earliest piece of its kind. It has decorations of...
Egyptian pottery from the Gerzeh culture and on the reverse of the NarmerPalette. These vexilloids were symbols of the nomes of pre-dynastic Egypt. The...
2600 BC: Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, Scotland is inhabited. c. 3090 BC: Narmer (Menes) unifies Upper and Lower Egypt into one country; he rules this new...
one of its claws – a motif also present on the NarmerPalette. The Ancient Egypt Site – The NarmerPalette Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, accessed...
flute. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Two Dogs Palette. NarmerPalette "Two Dog Palette". www.ashmolean.org. Retrieved 18 February 2024. Frankfort...
appears on the NarmerPalette from near the start of Egyptian history, both atop the palette and on the belt or apron of the king, Narmer. The Egyptologist...
works of Ancient Egyptian art is the NarmerPalette relief in the Louvre Museum, which shows a victory of King Narmer (c. 31st century BC) in several scenes...
the tomb of Tutankhamun. Portrait sculpture began in Egypt, where the NarmerPalette shows a ruler of the 32nd century BCE, and Mesopotamia, where we have...
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