1 Narmer Palette, Great Hierakonpolis Palette, or Palette of Narmer

2 When & Where is this? What is happening? Who are these people? Who is most important? Why was this carved? How can you tell?

3 “The cosmetic slate (schist) palettes are among the commonest artifacts in the Egyptian predynastic tombs.”

4 What types of information are contained in these quotes? “It is a large (63 cm.), shield-shaped, ceremonial palette, carved from a single piece of flat, soft green siltsone. The stone has often been wrongly identified in the past as being slate or schist. Slate is layered and prone to flaking, and schist is a metamorphic rock containing large, randomly-distributed mineral grains.” “Both sides of the palette are decorated, carved in raised relief. At the top of both sides of the palette are serekhs bearing the rebus symbols n'r (catfish) and mr (chisel) inside, being the phonetic representation of Narmer's name.”

5 Size Shape Form Media Purpose Cultural factors Large (63 cm.) Shield-shaped 3 Dimensions Implied by the word “carved” & by “Both sides of the palette are decorated, carved in raised relief” A single piece of flat, soft green siltsone. The stone has often been wrongly identified in the past as being slate or schist. Slate is layered and prone to flaking, and schist is a metamorphic rock containing large, randomly- distributed mineral grains. ceremonial palette At the top of both sides of the palette are serekhs bearing the rebus symbols n'r (catfish) and mr (chisel) inside, being the phonetic representation of Narmer's name

6 What types of information are contained in these quotes? Discovered in 1894 by British archeologist James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green in what they called in a deposit in the temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis. Egyptologist Bob Brier has referred to the Narmer Palette as "the first historical document in the world.”

7 What types of information are contained in these quotes? “This commemorative slate palette was carved circa 3168 B.C. (Dynasty 0) for King Narmer and was found at Hierakonpolis. This palette may be commemorating the unification of Egypt; Narmer may in fact be Menes, the legendary unifier of Egypt. The Narmer Palette is notable for being one of the earliest depictions of the standard elements of canonical art including a smiting scene, the use of registers to organize the picture, a depiction of both the red and white crowns, the use of hieroglyphic writing – including the use of the serekh to write the king’s name – and the use of the bull as a symbol of kingly power. Earlier palettes were truly functional, being used to grind cosmetics. They evolved into purely decorative or commemorative palettes such as this one. On the obverse side (right), one can observe that the circular depression where the cosmetic powder would have been ground has been retained though it is clearly not meant to be used.”

8 This commemorative slate palette Carved circa 3168 B.C. (Dynasty 0) for King Narmer found at Hierakonpolis. This palette may be commemorating the unification of Egypt; Narmer may in fact be Menes, the legendary unifier of Egypt. What type of information? ?

9 What type of information? ? The Narmer Palette is notable for being one of the earliest depictions of the standard elements of canonical art including a smiting scene, the use of registers to organize the picture, a depiction of both the red and white crowns, the use of hieroglyphic writing the use of the serekh to write the king’s name the bull as a symbol of kingly power

10 What type of information? ? Earlier palettes were truly functional, being used to grind cosmetics. They evolved into purely decorative or commemorative palettes such as this one. On the obverse side (right), one can observe that the circular depression where the cosmetic powder would have been ground has been retained though it is clearly not meant to be used.

11 Horus-name of Djet in a serekh Name of Narmer in a serekh

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14 Serekh The serekh is a stylised rectangle which contained the Horus name of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (they had five regal names each). Made up of two compartments, the bottom contains parallel lines which represent the frontal view of a palace. The top compartment represents a plan view of the courtyard of the palace. It was typically surmounted by a falcon, representing the God Horus, patron of the monarchy, although 2 kings of the Second Dynasty (Peribsen and Khasekhemwy) included the Seth-creature either alongside or as a replacement for Horus – what this symbolises is unclear.HorusPharaohsfive regal names eachfalconHorusSecond DynastyPeribsenKhasekhemwySeth Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by their nomen, adding ordinals (e.g. "II", "III") to distinguish between different individuals having the same name. The serekh was primarily used in predynastic times and during the First three Dynasties of Ancient Egypt before being replaced by the cartouche.predynastic timesAncient Egyptcartouche

15 Cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oblong enclosure with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu. The Ancient Egyptian word for it was shenu, and it was essentially an expanded shen ring. In Demotic, the cartouche was reduced to a pair of parentheses and a vertical line.Egyptian hieroglyphsFourth DynastySneferuAncient Egyptianshen ring Demotic Of the five royal titularies it was the throne name, also referred to as prenomen, and the "Son of Re" titulary, the so-called nomen, i.e. the name given at birth, which were enclosed by a cartouche.[1][1] At times amulets were given the form of a cartouche displaying the name of a king and placed in tombs. Such items are often important to archaeologists for dating the tomb and its contents.[2] There were periods in Egyptian history when people refrained from inscribing these amulets with a name, for fear they might fall into somebody's hands conferring power over the bearer of the name.[3][2][3]

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