Through the Eras

FashionOn the left, a crown made of reeds might be the ancestor ofthe king’s White Crown, symbol of the king of Upper (southern)Egypt. On the right, the Atef crown consists of two tallfeathers, cow horns, and ram horns. The king wore this crownwhen performing temple rituals. CREATED BY GGS INFORMATIONSERVICES. GALE.A muu-dancer’s crown was made from reeds. Muu-dancers performedin the funeral procession, acting out the deceased’sjourney from this world to the afterlife. CREATED BY GGS INFOR-MATION SERVICES. GALE.another crown. The major elements of the DoubleFeather Crown are two tall feathers, from either an ostrichor falcon, and the horns of a ram and a cow. Thefirst king known to wear this crown was Sneferu (r.2625–2585 B.C.E.), and kings continued to wear it untilthe end of ancient Egyptian history. The crown originatedin Lower Egypt in the town called Busiris andwas worn by its local god named Andjety. Busiris laterwas the Lower Egyptian home for the god Osiris whoalso sometimes wore feathers. The chief god of the pantheonAmun, the fertility god Min, and the war godMontu all also wore the Double Feather Crown. Theircharacteristics might have been conveyed to the kingwhen he wore the crown. The Double Feather Crownsometimes included Uraeus snakes and sun disks. Theking wore this crown during one segment of the coronation.The Double Feather Crown could also be wornwith the Atef Crown.ATEF CROWN. The Atef Crown combined a coneshapedcentral element that resembles the White Crownwith the Double Feather Crown. Sahure (r. 2485–2472B.C.E.) was the first king known to wear the Atef Crown,and it continued in use until the end of ancient Egyptianhistory. The god of the afterlife, Osiris, as well as theram god Herishef, the royal god Horus, and the sun godRe all were depicted wearing an Atef Crown. In the NewKingdom (1539–1075 B.C.E.), the Atef Crown also borea sun disk and Uraeus snakes. Thutmose III (1479–1425B.C.E.) also added the fruit of the ished-tree (probablythe persea tree) to the crown, associating it with the easternhorizon where this tree grows. The meaning of theword “atef” in Egyptian remains in dispute. It mightmean “his might” or “his majesty.”KERCHIEFS. The blue and gold striped clotharranged as a kerchief on the king’s head and called theNemes is also very ancient. The earliest known representationwas part of a statue of King Djoser (r.2675–2654 B.C.E.). The Nemes is included in the emblemof the royal ka (spirit) called the Standard of theKa. The Nemes’ association with the royal ka suggeststhat the Nemes somehow represents kingship itself. Bythe Eighteenth Dynasty (1539–1292 B.C.E.), the Nemescovered the king’s head while he wore other crowns ontop of it. The king also wore the Nemes when he appearedas a sphinx, such as at the Great Sphinx of Giza,or when he appeared as the falcon god Horus. The KhatKerchief and the related Afnet Kerchief may be the funeraryequivalent of the Nemes. The pairs of statues thatguard New Kingdom royal tombs wear the Khat andAfnet Kerchiefs. Tutankhamun’s mummy is also depictedwearing the Khat. The goddesses of mourning,Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 103