Narmer the Founding Pharaoh

Narmer the Founding Pharaoh

Narmer, also known as Menes, has been traditionally regarded as the founding Pharaoh of ancient Egyptian civilization. He was a ruler of Upper Egypt (southern Egypt, further up the Nile) who according to legend conquered the north (Lower Egypt) and established a capital at their junction which the Greeks would call Memphis. At this early stage, the Egyptians buried their dead royal not in pyramids but in short, flat-roofed structures called mastabas like the one in the background.

I got the idea for this from an ancient stone bust of Narmer himself which has him wearing this flat-topped headgear that spreads out near the top. I would have thought it was the red crown of Lower Egypt, but since it doesn’t have the big protuberance from the back that the red crown usually does, I couldn’t help but be reminded more of a kufi cap like African-American men wear. So here’s my interpretation of Narmer wearing a red kufi cap!


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