Narmer Macehead

Narmer Macehead

 

Narmer Macehead
The macehead shows Narmer wearing the Red Crown of the conquered north, seated on a throne and protected by the vulture goddess Nekhbet of Hierakonpolis.
In front of him are the standard bearers of his army, a seated figure on a canopied palanquin; figures of captives and numerals and signs representing the number of men, oxen and goats captured in war.
The seated figure is probably a woman, and it has been suggested that the figure is that of a captured northern princess whom the victorious king would take in marriage to consolidate the rule of the Two Lands.
The mace-head shows scenes of celebration of the heb -sed (jubilee) festival of renewal. A cow (possibly Hat-hor) and calf also have a prominent place in the iconography.

Top: Narmer Mace-head
Middle and Bottom: Line drawing of Narmer Mace-head. Now in the Ashmolean Museum.