Narmer Palette

Engravings on both sides differentiate this as a ceremonial, rather than on which may have been used on a daily basis. The Narmer Palette is important because the iconographic characteristics on the palette would remain a standard for about three millennia. This includes the location and size of the figures based on their royal importance, and the organization of each section of the palette. It defines the social structure of Egyptian society and meaning of hierarchy. The main theme of this palette is the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, shown through battle scenes. Starting at the top, you can see Narmer’s name written in hieroglyphs and has been translated as “fighting catfish”. The two bovines surrounding it might represent the sky
goddess Bat and serve as a connection to the heaven and horizon. It is unknown however, whether Bat existed or not is up on contention. Alternatively, the bulls might also refer to a certain bull-like power of the king. The king himself is featured on both sides of the palette, though wearing different crowns.
On the front, he is seen wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, while on the back he is seen wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. This is the first example showing a king wearing two different types of crowns, and thus may represent the unification process. An alternate interpretation of this is that the wearing of an Upper and Lower crown respectively shows the balance of order and chaos, something fundamental to the Egyptian view of world being. It may also represent the journey of the sun god in his boat. Later Egyptian texts show the Lower (Red) Egyptian Crown representing the many battles fought by the sun god before dawn on his daily journey. The Upper (White) Egyptian Crown represents the sun at midday. It is also interesting to note that the king is walking barefoot on both sides of the palette, as he is walking on ground sacred to the gods and goddesses. The victim kneeling in front of King Narmer is shown as naked in comparison to the king who is fully clothed. This may be a way to represent him as uncivilized and barbaric in comparison to the king. The harpoon behind the victim may allude to the number one, and in combination with the lake representing water, might mean this was Narmer’s first water
victory. The falcon on top of the victim is pulling the nose of the personified papyrus marshland, perhaps symbolizing breath of life being removed from the head that represents the enemy. These marshlands may represent the Nile Delta, ie Lower Egypt. On the backside, the central scene with the feline animals symbolizes harmony and unity. Feline animals may be alluding to panthers, which are the symbol of eastern and western heavens. At the bottom, the Apis bull symbolizes the power and masculinity of King Narmer. Later kings would use this as part of their titular. The overall meaning of the palette is very clear in showing King Narmer as victorious over his enemies, and in showing the victory of good over evil.