Ancient Egypt Flashcards
HighwhitecrownfromUpperEgypt
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RedwickercrownfromLowerEgypt
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Shenti
Most men wore a short loincloth or skirt, known as a shenti.
Shendot
Only royalty was allowed to wear the shendot, a special kind of loincloth.
Pschent
The combination of the high white crown of Upper Egypt and the red wicker crown of Lower Egypt was called a pschent. On the front of the pschent was the uraeus, the sacred hooded cobra, a symbol of the pharaoh’s power of life and death.
Priest’s clothing
Priests could be identified by their bare, shaven heads and the wearing of a leopard skin draped around the body.
Lock of youth
Because of the heat, Egyptian men were clean shaven. They had the right to wear an artificial beard for certain occasions. Royalty could wear short, stubby beards, but the king wore a long, thick and straight beards.
Children of the kings are often shown with a thick braid of hair hanging from the right side of the head. This was known as the lock of youth.
Wide collars and necklaces
Either a short cape covered the shoulders or the throat was encircled with a wide jewelled collar, leaving the breast exposed.
Kalasiris
The pharaoh also wore a transparent white linen gown (a kalasiris ), the royal apron, a beaded collar, armlets and bracelets, and the royal flail and crook.
Royal apron
The king also wore the royal apron. This apron was suspended from a wide belt, and both belt and apron were richly decorated with gold, semiprecious stones and colourful enamel inlays.
Crook
Other royal accessories were the shepherd’s crook and the grain flail, symbolising his authority over agriculture.
Flail
Other royal accessories were the shepherd’s crook and the grain flail, symbolising his authority over agriculture.
Nemes headdress
Egyptian pharaohs were often shown wearing a Nemes headdress. This was a headcloth, often made in a blue and white striped linen fabric that was wrapped around the head. A precisely shaped fold hung over the shoulders while some fabric was drawn to the back and bound around the wig in a pigtail.
You will see the Nemes headdress in pictures of the Sphinx and King Tutankhamen.
Uraeus(Royalcobrasymbol)
On the front of the pschent was the uraeus, the sacred hooded cobra, a symbol of the pharaoh’s power of life and death.
Ceremonial beard
Cleanliness was very important, and necessary in the extremely hot conditions. The head was clean shaven and a wig was worn on ceremonial occasions.
Royal sandals
The sandals became pointed as a result of Eastern influence.
Ankh
Used as a symbol of life, resembles a cross but instead of the top arm there is a loop
Women’s garments
Women of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore a close-fitting tunic that left the upper part of the body bare, sometimes with wide shoulder straps.
During the New Kingdom women wore a kimono- type garment held in place with a narrow sash tied at high waist level.
They also wore a draped costume which left the right arm and breast free as well as the unguent cone on the woman’s head.
Unguent cone
The unguent cone was a cone of solidified oil and perfume worn on the head. As the day progressed it would melt and ooze down over the head and body, releasing its fragrance. One of the explanations for the very close- fitting and transparent gowns depicted in paintings could be that the whole gown was saturated by perfumed oils from the unguent cone.
