Narmer
Palette
This masterpiece called Narmer
palette, made out of schist, was discovered by Quibell in 1894 at "Herakonopolis"
which is Kom Al-Ahmar nowadays.
The palette dates back to the reign of
king Narmer in the beginning of the first dynasty, considered a masterpiece because
it is one of the earliest documents that commemorate the steps of the
unification of the two lands, the victory scene of the king while smiting his
enemy became traditional scene in showing the triumph of the king over his enemies
during the successive periods and it also contains some features of the ancient
Egyptian art like : Drawing the full eye from the frontal side not from the
side like the direction of the face, the arms are shown from the side and
showing the body from the frontal side.
In general, the palettes were used in
the pre-dynastic period for grinding kohl, by its cavity, was used for the
beautification of eyes to protect it from the hard rays of the sun. Then the
palettes were used for registering and commemorating important events like the
king's victory, the hunting scenes and the foundation of new cities.
Egypt was divided into two kingdoms; the
upper kingdom in the south, its king used to wear the white crown and the lower
kingdom in the north, its king used to wear the red crown. King Narmer was the
king the upper kingdom who defeated the lower kingdom and united the two lands,
then founded the first dynasty.
The palette divided into two sides;
the frontal, represented the king's victory over his enemies and the back
represented the celebration of the king's victory.
The frontal side consists of three
registers, the first; in the middle is a representation of a façade of the
royal palace called "srkh". Inside it, there are two signs; the
catfish and the chisel compose the name of the king Narmer, while on either
sides of the srkh are two heads with bovine horns and ears representing goddess
Hathor, goddess of love, music, beauty, and maternity.
The second; is the main scene
representing the king, while smiting a kneeling enemy , holding a mace head in
his right hand ready to strike while his left hand is catching the completely
naked enemy from his hair , which is humiliating position. The king, shown with
all signs of royalty like the short kilt attached with tail of a bull
considered a sign of power and the white crown of Upper
Egypt. Behind the king, is a man carried a sandal contains perfume
or water used to purify the king's leg before the religious ceremonies. In the
upper right part , is a scene represented the king in the form of the falcon
with human hand capturing the head of the enemy from the nose , while standing on
a land with six papyri , this scene symbolizes the complete control of the king
over the Northern land.
The third; there are two naked enemies
who escape while turning their heads back, symbolizes their fear. They
represented without clothes is to deprive them from having the power because
the Egyptians believed in the magical power of the clothes.
The back side consists of four
registers, the first; is like the first one if of the frontal side. The second;
is the processional scene celebrates the king's victory over his enemies. The
king wears the red crown of Lower Egypt, while
holding a mace head and the flail sign of authority. The king is preceded by
his vizier carries two inkpots used for writing. Before the vizier are four
persons carrying royal standards. Two of them have the falcon Horus, the third
has the form of the jackal god (local god of Asyut) and the fourth has the representation
of the royal placenta. In front of the bearers, there are two rows of enemies
with cut head which is placed between their legs. Above the enemies, the falcon
god Horus is standing over a gate, express the idea that the king is entering
through the gate of Buto, the capital of Lower Egypt.
The third; shows two magical animals
with lion head and long interlaced necks and there are two men who hold the
heads of the animal by rope, reflects the idea that Upper and Lower
Egypt are unified beside nothing can separate them.
The last register; represented the king a
strong bull destroys the castle of the enemies, under the bull is a complete
naked enemy in scaring form.
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