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Home Palette of King Narmer, back (left), front (right).

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Larger Image	Larger image may be viewed by UofL faculty, staff, and students only (log-in required using ULink username/password) at: http://echo.louisville.edu/login?url=http://vrc-web.louisville.edu/Jpegs/820/824-24.jpg
Title	Palette of King Narmer, back (left), front (right).
Date	3000-2920 BCE?
Cultural Context	Egyptian Ancient Egyptian African North African Middle Eastern
Style/Period	Egyptian (ancient)
Theme	Sculpture (visual work) Plaques (flat objects) Reliefs (sculptures) Bas-reliefs (sculpture) Narrative (artistic device) Narratives (document genres) Storytelling Histories History (discipline) Documentaries Nations Inscriptions Pictographs Hieroglyphics Scripts (writing) Symbols Symbolism (artistic concept) Myths (literary documents) Mythology (literary genre) Legends (folk tales) Folk tales Folklore Scenes (depictions) Figurative art Figures (representations) Composite views Profiles (figures) Front views Men (male humans) Pharaohs Kings (people) Rulers (people) Leaders (people) Royalty Monarchs Monarchy Heroes Gods Goddesses Heads (representations) Costume (mode of fashion) Crowns (headdresses) Headdresses Headgear Sandals Footwear Loincloths Kneeling Gesture Standards (identifying artifacts) Standard-bearers Animals Wildlife Wild animals Cattle Bulls (animals) Horn (animal material) Lions Tails (animal components) Birds Fish Stylization
Subject	Sculpture Bas-reliefs Plaques Storytelling History Inscriptions Hieroglyphics Writing systems Names Symbols Myths Legends Homicides Decapitations Men Kings Rulers People associated with politics & government Heroes Enemies Dead persons Goddesses Gods People associated with religion Heads (Anatomy) Fictitious characters Supernatural beings Gestures Clothing & dress Crowns Headdresses Headgear Sandals Footwear Standards (Identifying artifacts) Animals Horns (Animal) Cattle Bulls Cats Wild cats Lions Falcons Birds Fish Plants
Description	From Hierakonpolis, Egypt. "In Predynastic times, Egypt was divided geographically and politically into Upper Egypt (the southern, upstream part of the Nile Valley), a narrow tract of grassland that encouraged hunting, and Lower (northern) Egypt, where the rich soil of the Nile Delta islands encouraged agriculture and animal husbandry. The ancient Egyptians began the history of their kingdom with the unification of the two lands. Until recently, this was thought to have occurred during the rule of the First Dynasty pharaoh Menes, identified by many scholars with King Narmer. Narmer's image and name appear on both sides of a ceremonial palette (stone slab with a circular depression) found at Hierakonpolis. The palette is one of the earliest historical (versus prehistorical) artworks preserved. Although it is no longer regarded as commemorating the foundation of the first of Egypt's 31 dynasties around 2920 BCE (the last ended in 332 BCE), it does record the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt at the very end of the Predynastic period. Although scholars now believe this unification occurred over several centuries, the Palette of King Narmer reflects the ancient Egyptian belief that the creation of the 'Kingdom of the Two Lands' was a single great event. […] The palette is an elaborate, formalized version of a utilitarian object commonly used in the Predynastic period to prepare eye makeup. (Egyptians used makeup to protect their eyes against irritation and the glare of the sun.) Narmer's palette is important not only as a document marking the transition from the prehistorical to the historical period in ancient Egypt but also as a kind of early blueprint of the formula for figure representation that characterized most Egyptian art for 3,000 years. At the top of each side of the palette are two heads of the goddess Hathor, represented as a cow with a woman's face. Between the Hathor heads is a hieroglyph giving Narmer's name within a frame representing the royal palace, making Narmer's palette the earliest existing labeled work of historical art. […] On the back of the palette, the king, wearing the high, white, bowling-pin - shaped crown of Upper Egypt and accompanied by an official who carries his sandals, is shown slaying an enemy. The motif closely resembles the group at the lower left of the Hierakonpolis mural and became the standard pictorial formula signifying the inevitable triumph of the Egyptian god-kings over their enemies. Above and to the right, the falcon with human arms is Horus, the king's protector. The falcon-god takes captive a man-headed hieroglyph with a papyrus plant growing from it that stands for the land of Lower Egypt. Below the king are two fallen enemies. […] On the front of the palette, the elongated necks of two felines form the circular depression that would have held eye makeup in an ordinary palette not made for display. The intertwined necks of the animals may be another pictorial reference to Egypt's unification. In the uppermost register, Narmer, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, reviews the beheaded bodies of the enemy. The dead are seen from above […]. The artist depicted each body with its severed head neatly placed between its legs. By virtue of his superior rank, the king, on both sides of the palette, performs his ritual task alone and towers over his own men and the enemy. The king's superhuman strength is symbolized in the lowest band by a great bull knocking down a rebellious city whose fortress walls also are seen in an 'aerial view.' Specific historical narrative is not the artist's goal in this work. What is important is the characterization of the king as supreme, isolated from and larger than all ordinary men and solely responsible for the triumph over the enemy. Here, at the very beginning of Egyptian history, is evidence of the Egyptian convention of thought, of art, and of state policy that established the pharaoh as a divine ruler. (Excerpt, pp.57-58)
People Pictured	Narmer, King of Egypt, fl. ca. 3100 B.C. Hathor (Egyptian deity) Horus (Egyptian deity)
Location Depicted	Egypt Egypt, Lower Egypt, Upper
Material	Slate (rock) Rock Stone (rock)
Measurements	Approx. 2' 1" high
Technique	Sculpting Relief (sculpture techniques) Bas-relief (sculpture technique)
Work Type	Sculpture Reliefs (sculptures) Bas-reliefs (sculpture)
Repository	Egyptian Museum (Cairo, Egypt)
Source	Kleiner, Fred S., and Christin J. Mamiya. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. (fig.3-2, p.58)
Rights	Photo credit/reproduced in Kleiner courtesy: Jürgen Liepe, Berlin.
Digital Publisher	University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center
Format	image/jpeg
Digital File Name	VRC 824-24.jpg
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Home Palette of King Narmer, back (left), front (right).

Palette of King Narmer, back (left), front (right).

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