Clothing in Ancient Egypt Part 6 – Headdresses and Crowns
While there was little distinction between any individual’s clothing, something else was needed to distinguish one being from another, specifically the pharaoh and the gods and goddesses from the common people. Headdresses and crowns were one of the distinguishing characteristics of the ancient Egyptians.
At one point in the history of ancient Egypt, the country was divided between Upper and Lower Egypt. These separated lands had their own rulers who wore the crowns of their office. The red crown, or Deshret, was associated with Upper Egypt. The white crown, or Hedjet, was associated with Lower Egypt. When the two lands were combined, the pharaoh was often represented wearing first one crown, then another, as is seen on the Narmer Palette. By the 4th Dynasty, while not common, the pharaoh was represented wearing both crowns at once. This combined crown was known as the Pschent (http://www.touregypt.net). By the Middle Kingdom, the Double Crown had replaced the single red or white crowns (http://www.touregypt.net).
Another crown or headdress associated with the pharaoh is the Nemes headdress. It is most famously represented by the funerary mask of Tutankhamen and is also seen on the Sphinx. It consists of a single cloth, usually striped, bound tightly across the forehead with two loose pieces of the same fabric hung down on either side of the head behind the ears and over the shoulders. The excess cloth was tied in a single plait and allowed to hang down the spine. The forehead portion of this headdress sports the uraeus, an upright flared cobra goddess known as Wadjet, and the vulture goddess, Nekhbet. Often, a plain form of this same headdress was worn by people other than the pharaoh, and would be called the khat headdress (http://www.egyptologyonline.com).
One final crown is commonly associated with the pharaoh and that is the blue crown, or the war crown. It appears slightly flared, the flares beginning in front of the ears and raising to the back. It has a rotund, bulbous front. Often, the goddess Wadjet is yet again standing at the pharaoh’s forehead (http://www.touregypt.net).
The crowns and headdresses described above pertain to the pharaoh in his more human form, but other crowns associated with gods and goddesses were often combined with these headdresses to associate the pharaoh with a particular deity.
Each deity had their own headdress to distinguish themselves from each other.
Queens of Egypt wore headdresses, much like the pharaohs did. The headdress most commonly worn by queens was the vulture cap associated with the goddess Nekhbet. The vulture and Nekhbet were associated with motherhood. To further emphasize their maternal role, the queens’ headdresses often had elements pertaining to Hathor, such as the cow horns with the solar disk (http://www.touregypt.net). During the reign of Akhenaten, the Heretic King, such adornments were no longer pertinent to the monotheistic religion Akhenaten had implemented. The queen was no longer required to make such deific connections. Nefertiti, the legendary beauty, had no call to wear the vulture headdress. Instead she wore a tight-fitting, flat-topped crown. After the reign of the Hereitic King, the old polytheistic religion was reinstated and the old headdresses of the queens were once again necessary (http://www.egyptologyonline.com).
At one point in the history of ancient Egypt, the country was divided between Upper and Lower Egypt. These separated lands had their own rulers who wore the crowns of their office. The red crown, or Deshret, was associated with Upper Egypt. The white crown, or Hedjet, was associated with Lower Egypt. When the two lands were combined, the pharaoh was often represented wearing first one crown, then another, as is seen on the Narmer Palette. By the 4th Dynasty, while not common, the pharaoh was represented wearing both crowns at once. This combined crown was known as the Pschent (http://www.touregypt.net). By the Middle Kingdom, the Double Crown had replaced the single red or white crowns (http://www.touregypt.net).
Another crown or headdress associated with the pharaoh is the Nemes headdress. It is most famously represented by the funerary mask of Tutankhamen and is also seen on the Sphinx. It consists of a single cloth, usually striped, bound tightly across the forehead with two loose pieces of the same fabric hung down on either side of the head behind the ears and over the shoulders. The excess cloth was tied in a single plait and allowed to hang down the spine. The forehead portion of this headdress sports the uraeus, an upright flared cobra goddess known as Wadjet, and the vulture goddess, Nekhbet. Often, a plain form of this same headdress was worn by people other than the pharaoh, and would be called the khat headdress (http://www.egyptologyonline.com).
One final crown is commonly associated with the pharaoh and that is the blue crown, or the war crown. It appears slightly flared, the flares beginning in front of the ears and raising to the back. It has a rotund, bulbous front. Often, the goddess Wadjet is yet again standing at the pharaoh’s forehead (http://www.touregypt.net).
The crowns and headdresses described above pertain to the pharaoh in his more human form, but other crowns associated with gods and goddesses were often combined with these headdresses to associate the pharaoh with a particular deity.
Each deity had their own headdress to distinguish themselves from each other.
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Amun wears a flat-topped crown with a long ribbon streaming from the back. It is topped with two tall feathers and, when combined with Ra to become Amun-Ra, the sun disk rests between the feathers (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Isis wears the definitive hieroglyph of her name, the throne of Egypt. Later, she took on aspects of Hathor and was often shown with the sun disk and cow horn headdress originally associated with Hathor (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Osiris usually wears the atef crown, or the white crown with two feathers on either side (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Nephthys wears the hieroglyphs that give her her title, woman of the house. It is the hieroglyph of a house surmounted by a basket (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Ma’at, the goddess of truth, wears a single feather in her headband. It is this feather that the deads’ hearts are weighed against to prove them worthy of an afterlife (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Mut is interesting as she is the only goddess to wear the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. She also often wears the vulture crown associated with Egyptian queens as her name contains the vulture hieroglyph which produces the sound mw (http://www.touregypt.net). |
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Seshat, the scribe goddess, wears the hieroglyph of her name, a seven or nine pointed star, or perhaps a flower with the aforementioned number of petals, crowned by a downturned pair of horns or crescent moon. There is some debate as to whether her symbol consists of a star or a flower. As she is the one who decides the length of a king’s life and the ancient symbol for an Egyptian king was in fact a flower, it could be that her symbol is the flower (http://www.touregypt.net). |
Queens of Egypt wore headdresses, much like the pharaohs did. The headdress most commonly worn by queens was the vulture cap associated with the goddess Nekhbet. The vulture and Nekhbet were associated with motherhood. To further emphasize their maternal role, the queens’ headdresses often had elements pertaining to Hathor, such as the cow horns with the solar disk (http://www.touregypt.net). During the reign of Akhenaten, the Heretic King, such adornments were no longer pertinent to the monotheistic religion Akhenaten had implemented. The queen was no longer required to make such deific connections. Nefertiti, the legendary beauty, had no call to wear the vulture headdress. Instead she wore a tight-fitting, flat-topped crown. After the reign of the Hereitic King, the old polytheistic religion was reinstated and the old headdresses of the queens were once again necessary (http://www.egyptologyonline.com).
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