Palette of Narmer, Pharaoh

The Palette of Narmer was retrieved in Egypt at Hierakonpolis in 1898 by Quibell and Green. Along with it, the finders located another palette and three mace heads. The other palette is called the Two Dog Palette and the Mace Heads are called the Major and Minor Scorpion Mace Heads. There are many questions among art historians, Egyptologists and archaeologists about this great work of art. There is debate as to what the scenes on it represent and why it was made in the first place.

Wikipedia image, accessed September 22, 2025.



The palette depicts a scene of bloodshed and subjugation. One side is divided into three areas called registers while the other side has four registers. The largest figure on one side is of a human being wearing the crown of Upper Egypt while on the other the being wears the crown of Lower Egypt. This is thought to be Narmer because of the hieroglyphs at the top of the palette. The catfish and chisel denote his name.



The central register where Narmer stands in an aggressive pose holding a kneeling bearded figure by the hair also shows a falcon. This falcon is the God Horus. The king of Egypt was thought to embody Horus on Earth. Because the falcon has the head of the man held by a rope, scholars believe that it means that Narmer subdued the people of that group by divine right. The papyrus growing from the oblong represent the people of the Delta or Lower Egypt. On the other side of the palette, there is a register where the King walks in a procession. Before him lay the decapitated bodies of people presumed to be his enemies.

It is important, as McDonald points out, because this is the first use of registers and the poses. This way of presenting images remained the standard for the next 3,000 years. Also, the hieroglyphs used here are a new development first seen in this palette.

The palettes had a considerably mundane purpose. They were used to grind stones into powder used for eye makeup. This makeup shielded the eyes from the sun and protected them from infection. The stones were lapis lazuli and other stones soft enough to grind. On the side with the “serpopards,” or serpentine leopards as Suezcle refers to them, there is a large circular indentation. This is where the stone would be ground. This particular palette, which was 63 cm or 24 in long, was used in the temple.



Another purpose according to the scholars was something that is common to all regimes in varying degrees. Narmer used these stones to disseminate an image of himself as a bold and strong leader capable of using force effectively to conquer enemies and maintain order. These pallettes were distributed among the ruling class and served to remind them of his power and strengthen his grip.

World History.org Accessed 22 September, 2025.



The debate between scholars centers on whether the piece really can be used as a historical document that describes what happened in 3,100 BC Egypt. Some scholars like Schulmann in the 1990s argued that the piece did not convey an accurate depiction of Narmer’s powerful subjugation of the people of Lower Egypt but was actually describing an event that happened a hundred years or so before in the time of one of his predecessors. That conflicts with the widely held view pieced together by scientists beginning in the 1940s who believe that it is definitely a historical account of the unification of Egypt by force.

The scholars that argue for Narmer’s leadership during the power struggle assert that in order for the unification to have taken place at an earlier time, the palette would have to be older as would the tombs where it was found. And, it seems that Narmer would have been more likely to back the work artists during his time if they were using art to further his interests rather than those of someone 100 years in the past.

Regardless of whether the palette chronicles the rise of a unified Egypt accurately or is propaganda to support Narmer, what it shows is relevant at any time in any place. It describes a violent takeover of a people by a ruthless ruler using deadly force. The scenes of mutilation and violence were created to legitimize Narmer’s position as King of Egypt. His rule may have lasted as long as 62 years.

Other finds at Hierakonpolis and Abydos in Egypt

Scorpion King Mace Head
Two Dog Palette
Battlefield Palette

Thanks for reading! ☺️ Sources available on request.

Art History for Everyone by Kristine TG Hardeberg: Book Review

Here is a book review for those interested in learning about art history from antiquity up until the great Impressionists.

Review: Art History for Everyone by Kristine TG Hardeberg

Art History for Everyone is a fun and accessible introduction to the subject of, guess what, Art History. It is for people who find art difficult to understand but want to know more about it. The author is Kristine T.G. Hardeberg from Norway who is an author, speaker and influencer. She gives lectures, courses and sells books online.

Unlike some nonfiction books about Art History this book is presented as an “exciting discovery trip into the world of art.” “Art History,” she says “seems foreign to many people,” so she suggests that an art history newcomer should become an explorer, proceed with child-like curiosity and use the “restaurant method.”

“The restaurant method,” she describes in her introduction, is the proper way of approaching a visit to a museum or to a gallery. She said that a little planning and examination of the material given at the museum will give an idea of what to look for while there rather than wandering around trying to take it all in and becoming tired and frustrated. Like a visit to a restaurant, one would choose a dish that means something on a personal level rather than ordering everything on the menu.

In her book, she begins with a brief tour of the world of antiquity, but it is in the content about Renaissance Art that she truly begins her exploration. She continues through each period with ease and clarity until arriving at Impressionism where she stops. All the while, she includes many pictures.

I had an ebook, so I had one problem with viewing these pictures. The formatting functions on my eBook reader laid out the wider paintings on more than one screen at times, so that it was difficult to take them in. Viewing these larger works in this way was therefore not really a thoroughly satisfying experience. I am sure that the hardcover edition did not present such a problem. The actual contents of the book were engrossing and truly a lot of fun. She gave lots of information about the prominent artists in each period and also analyses of their major works.

Hardeberg accomplishes her goal of presenting Art History to interested people in a fun and exciting way.

This book is available on Amazon, Thrift books and other locations. I am not receiving compensation for mention or review of this book. Enjoy.

YoungArts and a National Award for Artists Ages 15-18

It all started with President Jimmy Carter who issued an Executive Order to expand the United States Presidential Scholars Program to include the visual and performing arts and creative writing. This happened in 1979.  At first, the Educational Testing Service that administers the SAT’s was responsible for running the competition. Soon however, Ted and Lin Arison gave a 5 million dollar donation to establish the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and took over the competition in 1981.

From there the competition has turned into a mentoring, community building and development program for young artists and has helped thousands of performing, visual and literary artists aged 15 to 18 compete. YoungArts has led many of them to earn United States Presidential Scholars in the Arts Awards. The next competition will be held on January 4th- 11th, 2026.

Upon winning this award young artists are eligible for mentorship and a $10,000 prize. Ted Arison believed strongly that the arts were important to the nation.

“I think that the arts are the soul of our nation. I felt that the arts had almost become an endangered species and I realized, especially with young people, that YoungArts will ensure the future of our soul,” he is quoted as saying on the organization’s website.

YoungArts features 10 disciplines: classical music, dance, design, film, jazz, photography, theater, visual arts, voice, and writing. From the competition the alumni and other members of YoungArts have created a series on HBO entitled YoungArts Masterclass. A documentary was also created entitled Rehearsing a Dream that was made about the foundation. For more information visit youngarts.org.

Essays: Neolithic Structures, Part 1, Spain

The past is so amazing. Sometimes, the mysteries enshrined in the works of art, in the monuments and buildings of times past hold deep secrets that scholars are still working to uncover. In this category of posts, I will compile information from scholarly and popular sources to learn and then report information about these great works of the past.

Findings

The Neolithic Age is also known as a New Stone Age, and it spans the time between 10,000 BCE and 2000 BCE. It’s pretty amazing that our ancestors were walking and making art like this so long ago because of its size and complexity. With only simple tools and great skill and determination, neolithic people built these structures.

These early people lived in areas around the Fertile Crescent, the Yangtzi River, the New Guinea Highlands, Central Mexico, Northern South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern North America. They were involved in what is known as a Neolithic revolution because it was a time of revolutionary changes to ways that people lived. Instead of mainly hunting and gathering, people started building settlements, raising livestock and farming the land.

This time around, I will focus on an enigmatic and interesting activity that Neolithic people engaged in relating to art. They built gigantic structures made of stones called megaliths. One particular site is of interest for the size and weight of its stones. It is called Menga, and it is located in what is now Spain.



Aside from being interesting for their age, megaliths are significant because of their size and weight. Menga was built between 3,800 and 3,600 BCE and is the earliest of all four megaliths in Spain. It was first explored in the 1840s. Its large size is impressive. It is approximately 27 yards long and between two to almost four yards high. There’s a difference because its different stones are angled to a greater height at the back.

Studies indicate that these stones were dug into the ground and then covered with another stone called a capstone. Menga was also covered with soil after the capstone was in place. Scholars have been working to uncover the secrets of Menga for many years and there is debate as to how the structure was built because of the weight and size of the stones. UNESCO has named this a World Heritage Site and protects it.

The stones that make up Menga are 32 in number and collectively weigh about 1,140 tons. That’s like 91 school buses. Its capstone number C5 with a weight of almost 150 tons is the largest stone ever moved. According to research scientists like those in José Antonio Lozano Rodriguez’s team, these stones were brought from far away by the community and placed together in this shape with human effort and skill.

The Menga site is also amazing because of its orientation in relation to the sun and other landmarks in the area. It was built so that part of it is brightly lit by the sun while the other part is always in the shade. Also, its opening points to a sacred mountain nearby. It was used as a burial tomb according to numerous sources.

These types of structures took an immense amount of effort to build. The entire community had to be involved. They weren’t just crypts. According to researcher Leonardo Garcia SanJuán, it would be an error to accept the site as a “simple depository of objects.” They made sure that the structure was visible so that it could have a place in their lives. It was within the community’s geographical zone of influence so that it could be easily accessed, and it was in a place that was at a crossroads for travelers. This meant that people could get out of there to communicate from different parts of the world. Also, travelers could know that they were approaching the borders of this village’s land.

Families were strengthened as the connection to their ancestors and a social order was honored communally  the structure at Menga. Today, we have public art. It is not about death but usually quite beautiful and reflects the character of the artist and their vision for the community. Aside from large structures in mausoleums and crypts, this type of stone work is no longer employed in creating new works.

Thanks for reading! Email if interested in bibliography. ☺️