Art has been a prevalent feature of societies since ancient times. Over the centuries, art has been used for several purposes. It has been seen as a means of decoration, used to honor the dead and sometimes created to represent religious figures. Another popular use of art is military propaganda. Time immemorial, powerful leaders have found art to be an effective way to communicate their military superiority, as observed in the carvings of the Narmer’s palette and stele of Naram Sin. The Narmer’s Palette is a finely carved palette from the first dynasty of Egypt. It was found in a deposit in Hierakonpolis, a Predynastic capital located in the South of Egypt, during the excavation season of 1897/98. Most palettes from that time period were
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The palette is decorated in register style, with different symbolic carvings in each row. On the top there are two bulls on either side. They represent the two cow goddesses Bat and Hathor. They are very ancient deities and have a strong association with the symbol of life. Underneath the Bat and Hathor, their is a procession of seven people walking in the same direction. The King is shown wearing a crown and more elaborate costume than everyone else. The crown he is wearing has been identified as the Red Crown, that is usually associated with Lower Egypt. He is also visibly larger in size which emphasizes his importance over others. The King appears to be armed and also barefoot. The man walking behind him is the sandal bearer. The fact that everyone is barefoot shows that they are walking on sacred ground. The entire procession is walking towards two rows of beheaded men. They represent the enemies that had died in a battle against the King. Above the dead is a bark with high prow and stern. According to O’Connor’s celestial interpretation, the ship is the sun-god Re’s morning bark with the swallow at the prow representing sunrise. Horus hovering above the bark represents protection, and the gate is just about to open to let the sun-bark go through for dawn to begin. This suggests that the dead enemies may be offered as a sacrifice to …show more content…
The Serpopards are half serpent and half leopard. They are being controlled by two men. The taming of wild animals has often been viewed as a metaphor for the taming of Upper and Lower Egypt. This strange animal is unique. There are no other known parallels, so it is possible that the artist simply intended to create a circular area in the center for use as a palette for mixing pigments. The last register depicts a bull breaking through a gate and trampling a man. The bull represents the King and the man represents a dead enemy. This symbolizes the King’s immense power and victory over the
The palette is decorated in register style, with different symbolic carvings in each row. On the top there are two bulls on either side. They represent the two cow goddesses Bat and Hathor. They are very ancient deities and have a strong association with the symbol of life. Underneath the Bat and Hathor, their is a procession of seven people walking in the same direction. The King is shown wearing a crown and more elaborate costume than everyone else. The crown he is wearing has been identified as the Red Crown, that is usually associated with Lower Egypt. He is also visibly larger in size which emphasizes his importance over others. The King appears to be armed and also barefoot. The man walking behind him is the sandal bearer. The fact that everyone is barefoot shows that they are walking on sacred ground. The entire procession is walking towards two rows of beheaded men. They represent the enemies that had died in a battle against the King. Above the dead is a bark with high prow and stern. According to O’Connor’s celestial interpretation, the ship is the sun-god Re’s morning bark with the swallow at the prow representing sunrise. Horus hovering above the bark represents protection, and the gate is just about to open to let the sun-bark go through for dawn to begin. This suggests that the dead enemies may be offered as a sacrifice to …show more content…
The Serpopards are half serpent and half leopard. They are being controlled by two men. The taming of wild animals has often been viewed as a metaphor for the taming of Upper and Lower Egypt. This strange animal is unique. There are no other known parallels, so it is possible that the artist simply intended to create a circular area in the center for use as a palette for mixing pigments. The last register depicts a bull breaking through a gate and trampling a man. The bull represents the King and the man represents a dead enemy. This symbolizes the King’s immense power and victory over the