nemes headdress

E216368

The nemes headdress is the distinctive striped royal headcloth of ancient Egyptian pharaohs, often depicted in sculpture and relief as a symbol of kingship and divine authority.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
nemes headdress canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Egyptian royal headdress
pharaonic regalia
symbol of kingship
associatedWith Middle Kingdom Egypt
New Kingdom Egypt
Old Kingdom Egypt
Ptolemaic period royal imagery
colorPattern alternating light and dark stripes
contrastedWith atef crown
deshret (Red Crown of Lower Egypt)
linked to: Red Crown

hedjet (White Crown of Upper Egypt)
pschent (Double Crown)
linked to: White Crown
culturalContext ancient Egyptian court ceremonial
ancient Egyptian religion
depictedIn ancient Egyptian reliefs
ancient Egyptian sculpture
royal statuary
temple wall carvings
tomb paintings
function distinguish the king from non-royal elites
express the divine nature of the king
visually identify the pharaoh
hasCharacteristic covers crown and back of head
extends down behind the ears
has lappets hanging down on both sides of the face
often gathered or tied at the back
striped cloth
iconographicRole marker of the king even in damaged or fragmentary statues
standard element of royal iconography
influenced modern popular imagery of Egyptian pharaohs
material linen
textile
notableExample gold and blue nemes on the funerary mask of Tutankhamun
representedAs metallic gold-and-blue version in funerary art
symbolizes divine kingship
legitimacy of the ruler
pharaonic power
royal authority
timePeriod primarily 3rd millennium BCE to 1st millennium BCE
usedBy Egyptian queens in some periods
ancient Egyptian pharaohs
wornBy Hatshepsut (in some kingly depictions)
linked to: Hatshepsut

Ramesses II (in statues and reliefs)
linked to: Ramesses II

Thutmose III (in royal imagery)
linked to: Thutmose III

Tutankhamun (in funerary mask depictions)
linked to: Tutankhamun
wornOver shaven or closely cropped royal head
wornWith false beard in many royal depictions
uraeus cobra on the forehead
vulture head or vulture symbol on the forehead in some reigns

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis feature nemes headdress