The khepresh (''ḫprš'') was an ancient Egyptian royal headdress. It is also known as the blue crown or war crown.

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

s are often depicted wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies. While it was once called the war crown by many, modern historians refrain from characterizing it thus. No original example of a khepresh has yet been found. Based on ancient artistic representations, some Egyptologists have speculated that the khepresh was made of leather or stiffened cloth covered with a precise arrangement of hundreds of sequins, discs, bosses, or rings. Given that the deshret (red crown) and hedjet (white crown) were apparently woven of some sort of plant fiber, the circles or rings decorating ancient artistic representations of the khepresh may instead indicate the regular array of hexagonal holes in an open triaxial weave. As with many other royal crowns, a uraeus (cobra) was hooked to the front of the khepresh.

History

The Blue Crown, or War Crown, was represented in hieroglyphs.

Second Intermediate Period

The earliest known mention of the ''khepresh'' is on the stela Cairo JE 59635 G 20799which dates to the reign of pharaoh Neferhotep III, during the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

. In this and other examples from the same era, the word is written with a

determinative A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they ...

that represents the cap crown, a lower and less elaborate type of crown. The earliest known depiction of the ''khepresh'' is on the stela Cairo CG 20517 which dates to the reign of Snaaib, during the

. The stela shows him wearing the Khepresh crown and adoring the god Min

New Kingdom

During the

, pharaohs were shown with this crown in military circumstances. However, some scholars think that the crown was also meant to evoke the divine power of the pharaoh, and was thereby worn to religiously situate kings as manifestations of gods on earth. Images of the ''khepresh'' from the reign of

Ahmose I Ahmose I (''Amosis'', ''Aahmes''; meaning "Iah (the Moon) is born") was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. His reign is usually d ...

, first king of the

Eighteenth Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

, show a headdress that is taller than the cap crown and more angular than later forms of the ''khepresh''. This crown continued to evolve during the early Eighteenth Dynasty, attaining its best-known form in the reigns of

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

and

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

. After

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

's reign – and particularly during the 18th and 19th Dynasties – it came into fashion and was even adopted by some

s as a primary crown.

After the New Kingdom

The crown was not seen depicted in the Kushite Dynasty (747 to 656 BCE).Shaw, Ian, ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford University Press 2003, p.348 However, depictions of the crowns returned in the

Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...

(664 to 525 BCE). Some of the Ptolemaic and early Roman pharaohs are also depicted wearing it.

Gallery

Snaaib.jpg, Snaaib Pharaoh Ahmose I slaying a Hyksos (axe of Ahmose I, from the Treasure of Queen Aahhotep II) Colorized per source.jpg,

P1200400 Louvre un roi E16277 rwk.jpg, Amenhotep I Hatshepsut Relife.jpg,

Ancient Egypt Limestone Bas-Relief (28127212370).jpg,

Egyptian - Statue Head of King Amenhotep II with the "Blue Crown" - Walters 22229.jpg,

Amenhotep II Amenhotep II (sometimes called Amenophis II and meaning "Amun is Satisfied") was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few military campaigns i ...

Thutmosis IV Head.jpg,

Thutmose IV Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: ''ḏḥwti.msi(.w)'' "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately t ...

Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III - Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown - 1952.513 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif,

File:Head of the statue of an Amarna king (Akhenaten?) with khepresh crown and uraeus, painted limestone - Museo Egizio Turin C 1398 p04.jpg,

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

Akhenaten with blue crown.jpg, Akhenaten with blue paint on the khepresh crown Akenatón Berlín 05.JPG, Wooden standing statue of Akhenaten. Currently in the

Egyptian Museum of Berlin The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of Berlin () is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of the Neues Museum on Berlin's ...

. Egypte louvre 173.jpg, Akhenaten and

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

statuette Head of Tutankhamun MET DT546.jpg,

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

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Luxor temple9 c.jpg,

relief Tut-tuxure 407.jpg, This relief shows

(usurped by

) wearing the khepresh crown. Luxor Temple. Nuovo regno, xix dinastia, testa di sethi I, 1290-1279 ac ca, forse da grottaferrata.jpg,

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

Abydos Sethi et Ramses.jpg, Relief of the

Abydos King List The Abydos King List, also known as the Abydos Table or the Abydos Tablet, is a list of the names of 76 kings of ancient Egypt, found on a wall of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, Egypt. It consists of three rows of 38 cartouches (borders enclos ...

showing

and his son

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

on the way to make an offering. Seti is seen wearing the Khepresh while Ramesses is depicted as a prince holding

censer A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

s. Statue of Ramses II from Karnak, granodiorite - C 1380 Museo Egizio (Turin) 09.jpg,

Abydos Tempelrelief Ramses II. 15.JPG, Fragment of a painted relief of

wearing the Khepresh while being accompanied by

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

Egyptian - The Head of a Statue of Amenhotep III, Re-Carved for Ramesses II - Walters 22107 - Three Quarter Right.jpg, This statue shows

(recarved as Ramesses II) wearing the khepresh crown.

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

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. Merneptah Stele 2022 09.jpg,

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Seti-II-StatueHead MetropolitanMuseum.png,

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Weihrauchopfer RamsesIII aus KV11.jpg,

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Artist's Sketch of Ramesses IV MET 30.8.234 front.jpg, Ramesses IV Egypte louvre 129 ramses6.jpg,

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Satirical papyrus with the god Thoth and some baboons on the verso and religious text with the cartouches of Ramesses VII on the recto - Museo Egizio Turin C 2059 65 2059 64 p02.jpg, Ramesses VII (left) Ramses IX Karnak.jpg, Ramesses IX RamsesXCrop.jpg, Ramesses X Ostracon03-RamessidePeriod MetropolitanMuseum.png, Ramesses XI Relief Siamun Petrie.jpg,

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Xxvi dinastia, testa reale di forse di psammetrico I.jpg,

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Tête du pharaon Psammetique II.jpg, Psamtik II Apries.jpg, Apries Achoris or Nectanebo I statuette, Egype, Late Period, 29th to 30th Dynasty, 393-362 BCE - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - DSC08142.JPG, Hakor Nectanebo I with khepresh crown.jpg,

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NectaneboII-StatueHead MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png,

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References