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{{Short description|Ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head}}
[[Image:Narmer Macehead.png|thumb|right|Narmer Macehead<br />Centre left: Pharaoh Narmer seated in a [[Shrine|naos]]]]
{{multiple image
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The '''Narmer macehead''' is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head.<ref>[http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0080 ''Narmer Catalog'' (Narmer Macehead)]</ref> It was found in the “main deposit” in the temple area of the ancient Egyptian city of [[Nekhen]] ([[Hierakonpolis]]) by [[James Quibell]] in 1898.{{sfn|Quibell|pp=8-9,pl. 26B}} It is dated to the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]] reign of king [[Narmer]] (c. 31st century BC) whose ''[[serekh]]'' is engraved on it. The macehead is now kept at the [[Ashmolean Museum]], Oxford.
| align = right
| perrow = 2
| direction = horizontal
| header=Narmer macehead
| total_width=300
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Narmer Macehead.png
| caption1 = The Narmer Macehead (front).
| image2 = Mace-head of King Narmer.jpg
| caption2 = The Narmer Macehead (back). The name of Narmer appears in the [[serekh]] at the top.
| image3=Narmer Macehead Quibell 1900.jpg
| caption3=Illustrations on the Narmer Macehead
}}

⚫
The '''Narmer macehead''' is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone [[Mace (bludgeon)|mace]] head.<ref>[http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0080 ''Narmer Catalog'' (Narmer Macehead)]</ref> It was found in the "main deposit" in the temple area of the ancient Egyptian city of [[Nekhen]] ([[Hierakonpolis]]) by [[James Quibell]] in 1898.{{sfn|Quibell|pp=8-9,pl. 26B}} It is dated to the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]] reign of king [[Narmer]] (c. 31st century BC) whose ''[[serekh]]'' is engraved on it. The macehead is now kept at the [[Ashmolean Museum]], Oxford.


==Motifs==
==Motifs==
The Narmer macehead is better preserved than the [[Scorpion Macehead]] and has had various interpretations. One opinion is that, as for the [[Narmer Palette|Palette]], the events depicted on it record the year it was manufactured and presented to the temple, a custom which is known from other finds at [[Hierakonpolis]].{{Sfn | Millet | 1990}} A theory held by earlier scholars, including [[Flinders Petrie|Petrie]] and [[Walter Emery]], is that the macehead commemorates great occasions like Narmer's [[Heb Sed festival]] or marriage to a possible Queen [[Neithhotep]].<ref>Walter B Emery, Archaic Egypt, Pelican Books,1961, {{ISBN|0-14-020462-8}}</ref>
The Narmer macehead is better preserved than the [[Scorpion Macehead]] and has had various interpretations. One opinion is that, as for the [[Narmer Palette|Palette]], the events depicted on it record the year it was manufactured and presented to the temple, a custom which is known from other finds at [[Hierakonpolis]].{{Sfn | Millet | 1990}} A theory held by earlier scholars, including [[Flinders Petrie|Petrie]] and [[Walter Emery]], is that the macehead commemorates great occasions like Narmer's [[Heb Sed festival]] or marriage to a possible Queen [[Neithhotep]].<ref>Walter B Emery, Archaic Egypt, Pelican Books,1961, {{ISBN|0-14-020462-8}}</ref>


[[File:Narmer Macehead drawing.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Narmer Macehead (drawing). The design shows captives being presented to Pharaoh Narmer enthroned in a [[Shrine|naos]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wengrow |first1=David|author-link1=David Wengrow |title=The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, C.10,000 to 2,650 BC |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521835862 |pages=41–44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W9OFBw7yGZkC&pg=PA41 |language=en}}</ref> The scene depicts a ceremony in which captives and plunder are presented to King Narmer, who is enthroned beneath a canopy on a stepped platform. He wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, holds a flail, and is wrapped in a long cloak. To the left, Narmer's name is written inside a representation of the palace facade (the serekh) surmounted by a falcon. At the bottom is a record of animal and human plunder; 400,000 cattle, 1,422,000 goats, and 120,000 captives. [[Ashmolean Museum]], [[Oxford]].]]
On the left side of this macehead is a king sitting under a [[canopy (building)|canopy]] on a [[dais]]; he is wearing the [[Red Crown]] (''deshret'') and is covered in a long cloth or cloak. The king is holding a [[flail]] and above the canopy a [[vulture]], possibly the local goddess [[Nekhbet]], hovers with spread wings. [[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.{{sfn|Wilkinson|1999|pp=36-41}} Hierakonpolis’s religious importance continued long after its political role had declined.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|pp=98-100, volume 2}} Directly in front of the king is another dais, or possibly [[Litter (vehicle)|litter]], on which a [[cloak]]ed figure sits facing him. This figure has been interpreted as a princess being presented to the king for marriage, the king's child or a deity.{{Sfn | Millet | 1990}} The dais is covered by a bow-like structure and behind it are three [[Register (art)|registers]]. In the center register, attendants are walking or running behind the dais. In the top register, an enclosure, with what seems like a cow and a calf, might symbolise the [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of Theb-ka, or the goddess [[Hathor]] and her son [[Horus]], deities associated with kingship since earliest times. Behind the enclosure, four [[standard-bearer]]s approach the throne. In the bottom register, in front of the fan-bearers, are a collection of offerings.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
On the left side of this macehead is a king sitting under a [[canopy (building)|canopy]] on a [[dais]]; he is wearing the [[Red Crown]] (''deshret'') and is covered in a long cloth or cloak. The king is holding a [[flail]] and above the canopy a [[vulture]], possibly the local goddess [[Nekhbet]], hovers with spread wings. [[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.{{sfn|Wilkinson|1999|pp=36-41}} Hierakonpolis’s religious importance continued long after its political role had declined.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|pp=98-100, volume 2}} Directly in front of the king is another dais, or possibly [[Litter (vehicle)|litter]], on which a [[cloak]]ed figure sits facing him. This figure has been interpreted as a princess being presented to the king for marriage, the king's child or a deity.{{Sfn | Millet | 1990}} The dais is covered by a bow-like structure and behind it are three [[Register (art)|registers]]. In the center register, attendants are walking or running behind the dais. In the top register, an enclosure, with what seems like a cow and a calf, might symbolise the [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of Theb-ka, or the goddess [[Hathor]] and her son [[Horus]], deities associated with kingship since earliest times. Behind the enclosure, four [[standard-bearer]]s approach the throne. In the bottom register, in front of the fan-bearers, are a collection of offerings.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}


[[File:Hierakonpolis objects at time of discovery.jpg|thumb|The Narmer macehead (right) at time of discovery, [[Hierakonpolis]]]]
On the center part of the macehead, behind the throne with the seated king, there is a figure just like the supposed [[sandal-bearer]] from the [[Narmer palette]], likewise with the [[Rosette (design)|rosette]] sign above its head. He is followed by a man carrying a long pole. Above him three men are walking, two of them also carrying long poles. The ''[[serekh]]'' displaying the signs for Narmer can be seen above these men.
On the center part of the macehead, behind the throne with the seated king, there is a figure just like the supposed [[sandal-bearer]] from the [[Narmer palette]], likewise with the [[Rosette (design)|rosette]] sign above its head. He is followed by a man carrying a long pole. Above him three men are walking, two of them also carrying long poles. The ''[[serekh]]'' displaying the signs for Narmer can be seen above these men.


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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


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{{Commons category|Narmer Macehead}}
⚫
==External links==
⚫
*[http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0080 ''Narmer Catalog'' (Narmer Macehead)]

{{Commons category|Ancient Egyptian maceheads}}
⚫
{{Commons category|Narmer}}


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{citation|last=Friedman|first = Renée| year=2001|chapter=Hierakonpolis |editor-last=Redford| editor-first = Donald B.|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt| location =Oxford|publisher = Oxford University Press| pp = 98–100, volume 2|ref=harv}}.
* {{citation|last=Friedman|first = Renée|author-link=Renée Friedman| year=2001|chapter=Hierakonpolis |editor-last=Redford| editor-first = Donald B.|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt| location =Oxford|publisher = Oxford University Press| pages = 98–100, volume 2}}.
* {{Cite journal | last = Millet | first = N. B. | authorlink = Nicholas Millet | coauthors = | title = The Narmer macehead and related objects | journal = [[Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt]] | volume = 27 | issue = | pages = 53–59 | publisher = | location = | date = 1990 | url = | issn = | doi = 10.2307/40000073| id = | accessdate = }}.
* {{Cite journal | last = Millet | first = N. B. | author-link = Nicholas Millet | title = The Narmer macehead and related objects | journal = [[Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt]] | volume = 27 | pages = 53–59 | date = 1990 | doi = 10.2307/40000073| jstor = 40000073 }}.
* {{citation|last=Quibell|first= J. E. |year= 1900|title= Hierakonpolis, Part I|series= British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account|volume=4|location= London|publisher= Bernard Quaritch| ref=harv}}.
* {{citation|last=Quibell|first= J. E.|author-link=James Quibell|year= 1900|title= Hierakonpolis, Part I|series= British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account|volume=4|location= London|publisher= Bernard Quaritch}}.
* {{citation|last =Wilkinson|first=Toby A. H.|title=Early Dynastic Egypt|year=1999|location=London and New York|publisher=Routledge|ref=harv}}.
* {{citation|last =Wilkinson|first=Toby A. H.|author-link=Toby Wilkinson|title=Early Dynastic Egypt|year=1999|location=London and New York|publisher=Routledge}}.
*{{Cite journal | last = Yurco | first = F. J. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Narmer: First king of Upper and Lower Egypt. A Reconsideration of his palette and macehead | journal = Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities | volume = 25 | issue = | pages = | publisher = | location = | date = 1995 | url = | issn = | doi = | id = | accessdate = }}.
*{{Cite journal | last = Yurco | first = F. J. | title = Narmer: First king of Upper and Lower Egypt. A Reconsideration of his palette and macehead | journal = Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities | volume = 25 | date = 1995 }}.
* {{Cite web|title=Narmer Macehead Bibliography (Narmer Catalog)|url=http://www.narmer.org/pdfs/Bibliography-Narmer-Macehead.pdf}}
* {{Cite web|title=Narmer Macehead Bibliography (Narmer Catalog)|url=http://www.narmer.org/pdfs/Bibliography-Narmer-Macehead.pdf|access-date=2017-09-26|archive-date=2017-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927111930/http://www.narmer.org/pdfs/Bibliography-Narmer-Macehead.pdf|url-status=dead}}
{{Refend}}
{{Refend}}

⚫
==External links==
⚫
*[http://www.narmer.org/inscription/0080 ''Narmer Catalog'' (Narmer Macehead)]


{{First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt|state=expanded}}
{{First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:4th-millennium BC works]]
[[Category:1898 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Decorative maceheads]]
[[Category:Decorative maceheads]]
[[Category:Narmer]]
[[Category:Narmer]]
[[Category:Individual weapons]]
[[Category:Predynastic Egypt]]
[[Category:Collection of the Ashmolean Museum]]

Latest revision as of 01:50, 9 August 2024

Narmer macehead
The Narmer Macehead (front).
The Narmer Macehead (back). The name of Narmer appears in the serekh at the top.
Illustrations on the Narmer Macehead

The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head.[1] It was found in the "main deposit" in the temple area of the ancient Egyptian city of Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) by James Quibell in 1898.[2] It is dated to the Early Dynastic Period reign of king Narmer (c. 31st century BC) whose serekh is engraved on it. The macehead is now kept at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Motifs

[edit]

The Narmer macehead is better preserved than the Scorpion Macehead and has had various interpretations. One opinion is that, as for the Palette, the events depicted on it record the year it was manufactured and presented to the temple, a custom which is known from other finds at Hierakonpolis.[3] A theory held by earlier scholars, including Petrie and Walter Emery, is that the macehead commemorates great occasions like Narmer's Heb Sed festival or marriage to a possible Queen Neithhotep.[4]

Narmer Macehead (drawing). The design shows captives being presented to Pharaoh Narmer enthroned in a naos.[5] The scene depicts a ceremony in which captives and plunder are presented to King Narmer, who is enthroned beneath a canopy on a stepped platform. He wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, holds a flail, and is wrapped in a long cloak. To the left, Narmer's name is written inside a representation of the palace facade (the serekh) surmounted by a falcon. At the bottom is a record of animal and human plunder; 400,000 cattle, 1,422,000 goats, and 120,000 captives. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

On the left side of this macehead is a king sitting under a canopy on a dais; he is wearing the Red Crown (deshret) and is covered in a long cloth or cloak. The king is holding a flail and above the canopy a vulture, possibly the local goddess Nekhbet, hovers with spread wings. 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.[6] Hierakonpolis’s religious importance continued long after its political role had declined.[7] Directly in front of the king is another dais, or possibly litter, on which a cloaked figure sits facing him. This figure has been interpreted as a princess being presented to the king for marriage, the king's child or a deity.[3] The dais is covered by a bow-like structure and behind it are three registers. In the center register, attendants are walking or running behind the dais. In the top register, an enclosure, with what seems like a cow and a calf, might symbolise the nome of Theb-ka, or the goddess Hathor and her son Horus, deities associated with kingship since earliest times. Behind the enclosure, four standard-bearers approach the throne. In the bottom register, in front of the fan-bearers, are a collection of offerings.[citation needed]

The Narmer macehead (right) at time of discovery, Hierakonpolis

On the center part of the macehead, behind the throne with the seated king, there is a figure just like the supposed sandal-bearer from the Narmer palette, likewise with the rosette sign above its head. He is followed by a man carrying a long pole. Above him three men are walking, two of them also carrying long poles. The serekh displaying the signs for Narmer can be seen above these men.

The top field to the right of the center field shows a building, perhaps a shrine, with a heron perched on its roof. Below this, an enclosure shows three animals, probably antelopes. This has been suggested as signifying the ancient town of Buto, the place where the events described on the macehead might have taken place.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Narmer Catalog (Narmer Macehead)
  2. ^ Quibell, pp. 8–9, pl. 26B.
  3. ^ a b Millet 1990.
  4. ^ Walter B Emery, Archaic Egypt, Pelican Books,1961, ISBN 0-14-020462-8
  5. ^ Wengrow, David (2006). The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, C.10,000 to 2,650 BC. Cambridge University Press. pp. 41–44. ISBN 9780521835862.
  6. ^ Wilkinson 1999, pp. 36–41.
  7. ^ Friedman 2001, pp. 98–100, volume 2.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narmer Macehead.

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
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