Context, Function and Program: Understanding Ceremonial Slate Palettes Author(s): David O'Connor Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 39 (2002), pp. 5-25 Published by: American Research Center in Egypt Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40001148 . Accessed: 18/04/2012 10:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
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Context, Function and Program: Understanding Ceremonial Slate Palettes David O'Connor
i The relativelylarge, sometimes elaboratelydecorated slate palettes- considered for these reasons to be ceremonial- produced during the late prehistoric, and very early historic times in Egypt have been several times discussed at length in recent years.1 Thus, their long-recognized importance in terms of both early Egyptianculture or civilization,and the history of Egyptian art in general, has been once more highlighted. In reviewingboth recent and earlier discussions of these palettes, I have been struckby two issues which are significantlyrelated to each other. First, the palettes each individuallydisplaya "program," a structuredarrangementof pictorial elements carved in relief; and, as a whole, belong to a larger "program"in that a number of motifs and themes recur on several palettes, while other motifs and themes found on other decorated items of the time are largely,although not entirely,excluded. The latter include domesticated, as compared to wild animals, and items such as ships of different types, prominently featured for example on the Hierakonpoliswall painting, the Gebel el-Arakknife handle, and elsewhere.2Naturally,much attention has been paid by scholarsto deciphering the meaning of the programs,specific and general, associated with the palettes. Equallynaturally,there is considerable disagreementabout what that meaning, or meanings might be. These disagreementsor, more accurately,alternativerenderingsof the programs- insofar as earlier commentators are concerned- are well brought out by Cialowicz'ssurvey of scholarlyopinions vis a vis the frequent "zoomorphic"items on the palettes.3Amongst more recent commentators, one can compare Tefnin'sargument that the imagery on the palettes does not narrate (raconter) an event4 with Davis' claim that on the palettes the "imagesseem to be organized as narrativesto be 'read'in a specific way"(1992, 21) and that, "Irrespectiveof the . . . functions"of the palettes "theywork as pictorial narratives."5Cialowicz,like Davis, thinks narrativeis an importantfeature of the palettes' imagery,6 although he disagrees with some of Davis' specific narrative reconstructions-indeed, one suspects that absent texts and with considerable pictorial ambiguity,a number of alternativenarratives could be read into the same scene or assemblageof images. 1 See especially K. Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration.Etudes de I'artpredynastique(Krakow, 1991), and W. Davis, Masking the Blow: The Scene of Representationin Late PrehistoricEgyptian Art (Berkeley, 1992).
2 For the role of ships in early Egyptianart, see especiallyB. Williams,and T. Logan, "The MetropolitanMuseum Knife Handle and Aspects of PharaonicImagerybefore Nzrmer"JNES 46 (1987), 245-85. Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,especially chapters I and IV.
R.Tefnin,"Imageet histoire:reflexions sur l'usagedocumentairede l'image egyptienne,"CdE54, no. 108 (1979), 223; see also 224. 5 Ibid., 22. 6 Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,46, 79.
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Another important aspect of the imagery of ceremonial palettes is the degree to which it is symbolic and emblematic on the one hand, and historical or at least specific as to event, on the other. There is perhaps a general agreement that, as Baines7 puts it, the "palettescan be seen as moving from a rather ambivalentcelebration of the containment of disorder . . . through multiple representations of the king" embodied as a wild animal, as the Horus name, and "finallyin full human depictions."8Within this context however substantialdisagreement exists. Cialowicz,for example, reads the hunting imagery on the Hunters' Palette9as "une allusion aux evenements reels"10a supposition flatly denied by Tefnin.11More famously,the Narmer Palette continues to be read by some as a genuine historical record about perhaps "the last and greatest of the kings of Dynasty0 of Hierakonpolis,"12whereas others see its imagery's"composition as a ritual affirmationof conquest, not a real event."13 Relevant to the historicity of the Narmer Palette, and some other decorated objects, are a recent discovery by Dreyer and an important suggestion by Millet. The former involves the recovery of a year label of Narmer "identifiedby the same event as is depicted on the king's famous palette."14In fact, despite some similarities,the two scenes are by no means identical, and the enemy Narmer dominates is labeled with a different name or designation in each case. Millet'simportant suggestion was that scenes on some palettes and other objects (such as ceremonial maceheads) function as a year label, their purpose being to "simplyname the year in which the gift was made and offered to the god,"15the relevant scene on Narmer'spalette then being interpreted as "Yearof Smiting the North Land."16This is an attractivesuggestion, although the concept of a year name is to some degree a problematical one.17 More importantly,it is a notion not easily applicable to the earlier palettes, which display imagery of no obvious historicalimport. A final observation about the general significance of the ceremonial palettes, and some related objects such as ceremonial maceheads, needs to be made. Intrinsically,they are clearly of great arthistorical and culturalinterest, deserve the sometimes intense analysisthey have received, and merit being called "minor monuments."18Nevertheless, we must remember- as is sometimes noted, but perhaps not sufficientlystressed- that the palettes and comparableobjects very likely existed within the context of more complex, larger scale, and more monumental art which- whether in two dimen7 Baines has written several important commentarieson the palettes. See J. Baines, "Communicationand Display:the Integrationof EarlyEgyptianArt and Writing,"Antiquity63 (1989), 478-79; J. Baines, "SymbolicRoles of Canine Figureson 3 (1993), 57-74; and,J. Baines, "Originsof EgyptianKingship,"in D. O'Connorand D. SilverEarlyMonuments,"Archaeo-Nil man, eds., AncientEgyptianKingship,Problemeder agyptologie9 (Leiden, 1995), 109-21. 8 Baines, "Originsof EgyptianKingship,"114. 9 Most of the documenten uit palettes are convenientlycollected in severalplaces, e.g., H. Asselberghs,Chaosen Beheersing: hetaeneolitisch Egypte.Documenta et MonumentaOrientis Antiqui 8 (Leiden,1961);R. Ridley,The Unificationof Egyptas Seen Througha Study of the Major Knife-handles,Palettes and Maceheads,(Deception Bay (Australia), 1973); and J. Vandier, Manuel d'archaeologieegyptienne:Les epoquesdeformation I/I (Paris, 1952). u Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,67.
11Tefnin, "Imageet histoire:reflexions sur l'usage documentairede l'image egyptienne";see also Davis,MaskingtheBlow, 38-39. 12B. Kemp,AncientEgypt:Anatomyof a Civilization,(London and New York,1989), 42. 15 Baines, J. "Originsof EgyptianKingship,"117. 14T. Wilkinson, EarlyDynasticEgypt,(London and New York, 1999), 26, 66, 68; and G. Dreyer,"Ummel-Qa'abNachuntersuchungenim fruhzeitlichenKonigsfriendhof9./10.,"MDAIK54 (1998), 138-39 with figure. ib N. Millet,"TheNarmermaceheadand related ects, "JARCE27 (1990), 59. obj 15 Ibid.
17Wilkinson, EarlyDynasticEgypt,65, notes the events chosen to name a yearwould have to be chosen in advanceand be of a predictablenature;also see ibid.,219 18Millet, "TheNarmermaceheadand related objects,"59;see also W.S.Smith, TheArtandArchitecture of AncientEgypt,revisedwith additionsby WilliamKellySimpson (New Haven, 1998), 12.
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sional or sculpturalform- related closely to specific architecturalstructuresand their ritual and ceremonial purposes. The best indication this larger context existed is provided by the famous decorated tomb of Hierakonpolis, dating to Nakada He19and hence earlier than, or contemporarywith the earliest ceremonial slate palettes.20The principal painted wall scene in this tomb, along the entire face of its local west wall has often been described, and sometimes analyzedin some detail.21However, it is not usually pointed out that this wall scene is part of a largerprogrammaticwhole, involvingthe whole tomb and based upon intentionally variable treatment of wall faces, a program which also relates significantly to the form and function of the tomb. As to monumentality,the west wall scene occupies some 5m2, as compared to one of the largest palettes (Hunters'),which is about 1/5 of a square meter. The tomb in which it is displayedis unusually large for its period (Nakadalie), but small in global terms, at 5.7 by 2.8 meters (a floor area of about 16m2).Lined with brick, the tomb was divided into halvesby a partialcross wall, lower than the wooden, earth-cappedceiling that would have sealed off the tomb after the burial had been made. The burial lay (perhaps on the east side) in the locally southern chamber, while the northern chamber was occupied by funerarygifts. The programmaticaspect of the tomb is evident in the interrelationshipbetween wall treatment, architecturalform and the different functions of the two chambers.All wall faces were well plastered, as was the brick floor. In the northern chamber the wall faces were all plain yellow, except for the western wall, occupied by the northern half of the great wall painting.Walltreatmentin the southern chamberwas more complex. The southern half of the wall painting occupied the west wall;the entire painting had a blue-blackdado, while a strong red line defined the base of the painting proper (the topmost section of the painting did not survive).Both the southern and eastern walls had a similar dado, with a similarred line above it; but the wall space above- equivalent to the western wall painting-was painted plain white. Finally,the north wall (i.e., the partial cross wall) had a processional scene, which ran around onto the end of the cross wall. This intentional, clearly defined patterning in the treatment of wall surfaces involves the entire tomb. First, it clearly distinguishes the (more prestigious?) burial chamber, from the (less prestigious?) northern chamber;and secondly, it subdivides the southern, burial chamber into two quadrants. The two wall faces defining the south-westernare decorated;the two defining the south-eastern quadrantare blanklywhite. This patterning suggests the body itself (only a few bones survived)was conceptuallydivided into differentiatedcomponents, one in the south-westernquadrant,the other in the south-eastern. Yet the program, and the architecture,also conveyed the unity of the whole tomb. The wall painting ran through both chambers,which were also linked by the opening between the western wall and the partialcross wall, and the gap between the ceiling and the cross wall. 19H. Case and J. Payne, "Tomb100: the decorated tomb at Hierakonpolis," JEA 48 (1962), 5-18; J. Payne, "Tomb100. The decorated tomb at Hierakonpolisconfirmed,"JEA 59 (1973), 31-35; for the tomb and its wall paintings, see J. Quibell, and F. Greene, Hierakonpolis PartII, EgyptianResearchAccount Fifth Memoir,reprintedby Histories and Mysteriesof Man Ltd. (London, 1989), 20-22, 51, pls. LXVII,LXXV-LXXVIII. 20H. Kantor, "The Relative Chronology of Egypt and Its Foreign Correlationsbefore the First Intermediate Period,"in R. Ehrich, ed., Chronologies in Old WorldArchaeology1 (Chicago, 1992), 10; Cialowicz,Les palettesegyptiennesaux motifs et sans decoration,9, 80-81; and Davis,MaskingtheBlow,10-11. zoomorphes Zl For example, Vandier,Manueld'archaeologie egyptienne,561-70; E. Avi-Yonah,"Tosee the God . . . Reflections on the Iconographyof the DecoratedChamberin Ancient Hierakonpolis,"in S. Groll ed., Papersfor DiscussionPresentedto theDepartmentof Egyptology 2 (Jerusalem,1985) 7-82; Williams,and Logan, "The MetropolitanMuseum Knife Handle and Aspects of PharaonicImagerybefore Narmer,"253-55, 265-66, 271-72; B. Midant-Reynes,Prehistorie de VEgypte des premiershommes aux premierspharaons(Paris,1992), 194-97.
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Why these complex interrelationships between wall treatment and paintings, architecture and functions were created for this tomb is an irresolvable question. But the circumstances show the Egyptianswere capable of creating such entities by Nakadalie and could have done so as easily with surface structures,such as tomb chapels or a deity'stemples, as with tomb chambers.Ultimately,programs may have consisted largely or entirely of pictorial representations(eventually complemented by textual material),painted on mud plaster or even carved in relief on stone (and wood?) lining the internal faces of brick walls. Very little evidence for this supposition has survived,22but this is not surprising,given the small and often severely denuded data base currentlyat our disposal. It is these larger, aestheticizedentities which were the larger context for the palettes discussed here and which, I surmise, provided a repertoryof themes, emblematicforms and compositional models drawnupon by those who designed and carved the palettes. Whether this was so or not however does not affect the second majorpoint that I wish to make about the ceremonial slate palettes, namely that in the sometimes elaborate discussions about their aesthetic aspects, and the possible ideological, societal and even historical significancesof their imagery,little sustained attention is paid to their specific contexts and function, and the possible impact of these upon the issues just cited. This topic I will discuss in the second part of this article, but I would note now that potentially it could lead to a significantlymore nuanced understandingof the imageryinvolved. II More generally,as regardsfunction the palettes are unquestionablyassociatedwith the preparation and application of cosmetics, usually,it is assumed, for applicationaround the eyes. This function is indicated in part by the prototypes of the ceremonial palettes, namely palettes provided to the dead since Badariantimes, and sometimes displayinguse patterns and even traces of green mineralsindicative of their cosmetic function.23In accord with this function, ceremonial slate palettes- when sufficiently preserved (some are attested only as relativelysmall fragments)- alwayshave on one face an undecorated, circulararea (alwayson the palette'sverticalaxis, and either on, or above its horizontal axis) for the grinding or at least containment of a cosmetic. Additionally(and this is never seen on the palettes intended for the dead), the circulararea is alwayssurroundedby a raised border, usually plain but once in the form of an encircling snake.24This border visually emphasizes the cosmetic area, implicitlyaffirmingthe ceremonial palettes' cosmetic function. It is also practicalin that, should the ceremonial palette actuallyhave been used, the border would inhibit the spread of the cosmetic (first in dry powdery form, then in more liquid form once it was finally ready for the application) onto the decorated portions of the palette's surface. Otherwise, cosmetic extending beyond the cosmetic area would be difficult to recover for application. It is true that, apparently,neither traces of usage, nor of cosmetic itself, have been detected on the cosmetic areas of ceremonial palettes.25They may indeed have had purely notional functions, as votive objects never intended to be actually used. On the other hand, the palettes may have been used not to grind minerals into the required powdery form, but simply to mix cosmetic powder and liquid, after which it could be applied; such a process would be less likely to leave traces of use. The 22See howeverfor the end of DynastyII, N. Alexanian,"DieReliefdekorationdes Chasechemuiaus dem sogennantenFort in Hierakonpolis,"in N. Grimal(ed.) Les Criteresde DatationStylistiques a VAncienEmpire,Bibliotheque d'Etude 120 (Cairo, 1990), 1-21. 23 Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,ch. II.
24H. Fischer,"A Fragmentof a Late PredynasticEgyptianRelief from the EasternDelta,"ArtibusAsiae21, 1958), 64-88; the MetropolitanMuseumfragment28.9.8. lb Davis, MaskingtheBlow,74-75.
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term ceremonial, it should be noted, refers to the palettes' unusual size and elaborate decoration, and does not imply they were not used- indeed, suggests they wereused in some "ceremonial"or ritual way.It should also be noted that the palettes varygreatlyin size- the longest (the Hunters' Palette) is 76 cm long, the shortest (the MetropolitanMuseum fragment 28.9.8, restored to its estimated full size) about 12 cm, but that all of them could be manipulated and used, even if the larger ones required two people, rather than one, to handle them. As to context, a varietyof uses and locales can be visualizedfor the ceremonial slate palettes,26but I think our best working hypothesis must be based on the only two ever recovered archaeologically, and on the fact that no ceremonial palette has yet been directlyassociatedwith a mortuarycontext (a relief decorated palette in a grave at Gerzeh, while of great interest, does not correspond to the typology of a ceremonial palette, as described here).27The two archaeologicallydocumented palettesthe Small Palette of Hierakonpolis and the Narmer Palette- were found in circumstanceindicating strongly that they were originallydedicated to, and kept in an early temple at Hierakonpolis.28This suggests that all other ceremonial palettes, whether earlier and more zoomorphic in imagery29or later and featuring humans more prominently, were intended for similar contexts, i.e. other early temples. The relativelylarge number of these palettes and the variety they display in imagery,size, and the technical abilityof the craftsmeninvolved suggest in fact that there may have been a considerable number of temples distributedthroughout Egypt at the time the palettes were being made. Given this context, it is reasonable to assume that, notionally or actually,these palettes were involved in presumablyfrequent ritual adornments of the divine image such temples housed. That the Egyptianswere capableat this time of producing such images is shown by the well-knowncolossal figures of the god Min30from Coptos; their number and size indicates they themselves were not cult images, which one assumes were relativelysmall, but appropriatelyminiaturizedversions of them, and of other deities, could have been made and used for cultic purposes.31One might also reasonably assume that ceremonial palettes, whether purely votive or actuallyfunctional, would have been kept in the same chamber or room as the cult image, or at least stored close by. To envisage this situation in any greater detail is difficult, because no temple or shrine of the period has been located and excavated, although an impressive stone threshold block (a door pivot carved to represent a bound prisoner) survived in situ at the Hierakonpolis temple.32Slightlylater, temple-likestructuresmightindicate what the plans of such early temples might have been. A small, chapel-like temple at Elephantine has a circuitous plan leading back to a presumed shrine at the rear,33while a chapel attached to a late DynastyI elite tomb at Saqqara(tomb 350534)was impressively large- 565.5 m2- with a markedlycircuitous plan leading, in part, to a shrine deep within the chapel and actuallycontaining the bases of two wooden statues (one at least presumablyof the tomb owner) and analogous to a statue shrine in a temple. Finally,but much later than the period of the 26 Ibid., 17-22. 27 W. M. E Petrie, CeremonialSlate Palettes, BSAE 66A (London, 1953), pl. B, fig. 5. 28 Quibell, and Greene, HierakonpolisPart II, 13-14; for an introduction to the temple site see Kemp, Ancient Egypt:Anatomy of a Civilization, 74-77; T. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, 309-11; but see also D. O'Connor, "The status of Early Egyptian Temples: an Alternate Theory," in R. Friedman and B. Adams, eds., The FollowersofHorus. Studies Dedicated to Michael Alan Hoffman, Oxbow Monograph 20 (Oxford, 1992), 83-98. 29 Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration. 50 Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, 290-91, 313. 31 Ibid., 262-64, 267-69, with reference mainly to a period immediately after that of the palettes. iZ Quibell, and Greene, HierakonpolisPart II, 34, 36. 33 G. Dreyer, Elephantine VIII. Der Tempelof Satet: Die Funde der Friihzeit und des Alten Reiches. AVDAIK 39 (Mainz am Rhein, 1986). 34 W Emery, Great Tombsof the First Dynasty III, Egypt Exploration Fund (London, 1958), 10, 13.
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ceremonial palettes, we have two royal, presumablymortuarychapels or temples at Abydos for kings Peribsen and Khasekhemwyat the end of DynastyII.35The former, relativelysmall at 111.6 m2, had a simple plan which was nevertheless circuitous in organization. The latter, 278.5 m2, had a more elaborate plan, strongly circuitous in layout and leading into an (incompletely preserved) rear complex which likely included a statue shrine. These circumstancesthen might be taken to indicate that ceremonial slate palettes were located in or near statue shrines, towardsthe rear of relativelysmall temples with complex and circuitousplans. This, as well as their relationship to an intimate and sacred rite- the adornment of a deity's image, itself set up within the temple- indicates the palettes were relativelyinaccessible objects without a public dimension, as several scholars have noted.36 Such temples were, as I have suggested above, themselves likely decorated- in part or whole- with painted or even relief wall scenes, arranged in terms of a program to which the imagery on the palettes might have related in some way. Having thus reconstructed, insofar as the very incomplete data allow, the function and context of the ceremonial slate palettes, I should now like to demonstratehow both function and context might have impacted, in specific and substantialways, upon the imagery displayed on the palette. For the purposes of discussion, I shall be discussing mainly intact or largely intact palettes, although more fragmentaryexamples will be referred to with regard to particularpoints. First,I would suggest that the two faces or sides of any specific ceremonial palette were not considered equivalent in value or significance, but that instead one face was what I will call the "primary" face, and the other the "secondary"face. The primaryface is alwaysthat containing the cosmetic area or circle, with its defining raised border. This conclusion is an inference, based on the assumption that the cosmetic area face is directly involved in ritual (whether notionally or actually is, I think, irrelevant)and hence closely related to the deity in a way which is not true for the other, and hence secondaryface. This inference receives some support from the fact that the secondaryface of at least two palettes was left- presumably intentionally- undecorated, whereas the primary face was decorated, in one instance most elaboratelyso (the Hunters' Palette;the other palette is the Metropolitan Museum Fragment 28.9.8). This I think indicates the secondary face was considered less valuable than the primary,or at least was differentiatedfrom the latter in some significantway. Ritualusage, notional or actual,also engenders a primaryand secondaryface. For the palette to be used, it must be held or laid flat, with the face with the cosmetic area or primaryface uppermost. Thus, the latter automaticallybecomes "above,"or superordinate,the secondary "below,"or subordinate. Moreover, the secondaryface will come into full contact with the supporting hand or hands of the cult practitioneror an assistant,while contact between the primaryface and human hands will be much less, and even absent if implements are used to manipulate the cosmetic materials. Alternatively,the palette might be laid flat onto a surface, e.g., of an offering table or other support, but this again brings the secondaryface into a full or partialcontact with another material,an experience the upper or primaryface escapes altogether.These differentiationsare, I think, enough in themselves to indicate the contrast presumed to exist between the two faces, but it is possible that the secondary was also seen as one that came into contact with potentially or actuallyimpure surfaces (e.g., of human hands, or other material)and hence was more susceptible to ritual pollution. In a way, the contrast between the two faces of any palette during ritual use is also one of "inside" (primaryface) to "outside"(secondaryface). Although the obvious distinction, as noted above, is between above and below, it is also true that the primaryface necessarily"faces"the divine image, 35E. Aryton,et al. AbydosPartIII, EgyptExplorationFund (London, 1904), 1-5. 36For example, Baines, "Originsof EgyptianKingship,"121.
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however obliquely, and hence has an "inside"relationship to the latter; by the same token, the secondary face is completely concealed from the face or "view"of the deity, and hence can be considered "outside." The potential for the two faces of a palette to have an inside/primaryface and outside/secondary face relationship might have been further emphasized by the mode in which the palette was kept when not in ritualuse, or indeed permanentlyif it was a purely votive object. Whether in the sanctuary,or in another chamber,the palette could have been kept flat, in which case the circumstancesof upper/inside, and lower/outside, described above, continues to hold. However, if the palette, perhaps supported by a bench, was stood against a wall, or even mounted on some kind of free standing support, it seems likely one face would face inwards,and be the inside face, and the other outwards (e.g., against,or facing towardsa wall) and be the outside face. Again, I would suggest that because of its inherentlygreatervalue or significancethe cosmetic area or primaryface would tend to be the one facing inside, while the other face was the outside one. If kept in the sanctuary,the primary/inside face would thus be oriented towardsthe divine image, and the secondary/outsideface oriented away from it, but even in a separate chapel or store chamber, this distinction could also be maintained. Again, the outside/inside issue implies the primaryface is superordinate, the secondary subordinate. The former faces the deity or, at least, is in view and faces awayfrom potentially polluting surfaces, such as those of a bench or wall, while the reverse is true for the secondary face. Even in the case of a free standing support, the primaryface was likely oriented towards the divine image, and the secondaryawayfrom it; or, in a chapel or storeroom context, could have faced towardsthe doorway,leading inside the temple, while the secondary face was oriented towards one of the chamber's wall faces, emblematic of the outside of the chamber, or perhaps the temple as a whole. Ill If we turn from the function and context of the palettes to the imageryupon them, I believe we can again detect a clear differentiation being maintained between the primary and secondary faces in terms of compositional structure- at least, insofar as largelyintact palettes with both faces decorated are concerned. In every case, I would suggest that on the primaryface the overall composition of the imagery is structuredaccording to a mode of circularitywhile on the secondary face it is structured according to a mode of verticallinearity.The compositional differentiationbetween the two faces is sometimes obvious, in other cases it is more subtlybut I think definitivelyevoked. Let us take the more obvious cases first. The Louvre Palette El 1052 is a relativelysmall one, and the imagery correspondinglynot very complex, since the space availableis limited. On the primary face, the extended bodies of two animals (each moving purposivelyin opposite directions) flank the cosmetic area above and below, and create an impression of circularitywhich extends out to include the four wild dogs which frame both the sides and ends of the palette. On the secondary face however, a tall tree flanked on each side by a long-necked and stationarygiraffe forms a more static composition structured strongly in terms of vertical linearity.This in turn transforms the four framing wild dogs also into verticallylinear elements, a feature subtly stressed by the wide space between the dogs' heads at the base of the palette on the secondary face, as compared to the serpopardhead between them at the base of the primaryface, by which the three heads are transformedinto an almost continuous circular or oval line. For another palette with its two faces organized according to the same compositional principles, see the "Berlinfragment of Spiegelberg."37 37 Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,52-53.
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Fig. 1. Louvre Palette E 11052; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
The Battlefield or Lion Palette had a similarlyverticallystructuredgroup (two stationarygiraffes flanking a tree) on its secondary face (with some other feature, no longer preserved, above them). The primaryface imagery highlighted humans as much as animals, and arrangedthem in an implicitly almost register fashion. Below the cosmetic area was a field filled with slain humans (one mauled
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Fig. 2. Battlefield Palette; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
by a lion, others attackedby carrion birds), and above there seems to have been a similar scene, although little has survived. On either side of the cosmetic area are bound prisoners being forced to approachit, on the left by personified standards,on the right by another, robed, human (all the slain and prisoners are naked). Overall however, the register effect is irregularlymaintained and since there are no actual groundlines the scenes can be understood as arranged around the circular cosmetic area, and thus conforming to a mode of circularity.This impression is strengthened by the horizontallyextended bodies of the slain above and below (the tops and bottoms of a circularstructure) and the verticalprisoners beside the cosmetic area (the two sides of a circularstructure). The palettes end with the Narmer Palette which, despite important differences between it and earlier palettes, clearlyis integrallyincorporatedinto the trajectoryof stylisticdevelopment these palettes represent. Indeed, the Narmer Palette shows the same strong contrast as the earlier ones between a primaryface organized in a circulatorymode, and a secondary one in a mode of verticallinearity. The latter is particularlyobvious. On the secondaryface, the centrallylocated, tall and verticalfigure of Narmer (and his serekh above) is the visual equivalentof the tall tree seen on earlier palettes. The verticallystructuredflankingdevices are less obvious than the heraldicallyarrangedgiraffesseen earlier, but are nevertheless present. On the left, we have- stacked one above the other- the king's sandal bearer, the king'supraised mace, and the Hathor or Bat head at the top. This element of vertical linearityis balancedby similarlyverticallystacked elements on the right; a dominated enemy, an emblematicgroup (Horus holding a captive, in balance with the upraised mace opposite Horus) and
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Fig. 3. Narmer Palette; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
again the Hathor or Bat head. The importance of the vertical structure is subtly emphasized by a seemingly separate scene below, underneath Narmer. Here the two enemy bodies displayed essentiallyflank the verticalaxis of the palette, although a small part of one crosses the axis, as if to modulate yet maintain this arrangement. On the primaryface, the use of registers to some degree masks the circulatorymode of composition, but the latter remains fundamental to the layout of the imagery.The circularmode is particularly evident at the center, via the curves of the serpopards'necks, and the curving forms of the two attendants,as well as of the lassos they hold. Otherwise,the circularmode is evident in the continuity of the upper and lower scenes, i.e. in the way they run across the field without emphasizingthe vertical axis of the palette. Thus, the strongest vertical element in the upper scene- Narmer himself- is placed well to the side, while a set of verticals- the standards-crosses and extends asymmetricallybeyond the verticalaxis. The lower scene comprises a single, if complex emblematicgroup, running the entire width with again little reference to the vertical axis. This is to be compared with the evident impact of the vertical axis upon the counterpartscene at the bottom of the secondary face.
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Fig. 4. The Small Palettefrom Hierakonpolis; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
At first glance, the remaining major palette- the Small Palette from Hierakonpolis- does not seem to conform to the pattern of primaryface/circulatorycompositional mode and secondary face/vertically linear compositional mode. The primary face does, I think, obviously display the circulatory composition, particularlyin that the serpopards'necks and animalforms swirlaround all sides of the cosmetic area. The vertical axis is largely ignored, in that the animals above and below the cosmetic area are not posed with reference to it, but rather cross the verticalaxis and are virtuallybisected by
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it. The lower scene (two irregularregisters of animals)is not balancedby another above the cosmetic area, because the latter is set quite high, but reflects the circulatorymode in two ways. First, the two registers run continuously across the width, ignoring the verticalaxis, which runs through two of the animals. Second, the two registers tend to be higher at their upper corners than at their central, lower base, so each seems to curve gently downwards,echoing the lower part of the circularcosmetic area. However it does not seem that the composition on the secondary face is organized according to the verticallylinear mode observableon other palettes. In fact, I believe it is, but in a more subtle way than elsewhere, by referring to the existence of the palette'sverticalaxis without actuallydelineating it in formal terms. For example, in the upper part two lions (grasping and eating herbivores) are heraldicallyarranged, as if on either side of a vertical element (see, for example, the lions on either side of a vertical human figure on the Hierakonpolis wall painting, and on the Gebel el-Arakknife handle)38;in fact, there is no figure, so the emphasis is upon the verticalaxis of the palette itself. At the other, lower end of the palette a visuallystrong verticalelement, close to the palette'scentral axis, is introduced in the form of a giraffe.Since, on palettes, giraffesdo not occur outside of the heraldicallyarrangedpairs noted above, this usage is unusual and presumablyintentional, rather than random. In fact, the giraffe'sfront feet are on the verticalaxis, and its neck close to it as if to emphasize the axis' presence. Finally,and perhaps most important of all, the entire composition is in fact structuredby the vertical axis. Whereas on the primaryface the verticalaxis is ignored, in that animals cross it in a substantial way and are virtually bisected in most cases, on the secondary face animals only marginally intersect with the vertical axis, and the composition is therefore divided into two distinct vertical halves. In each half, the components are literallystackedup from bottom to top, in a way reminiscent of the vertical stacking seen on the secondary face of the Narmer palette. Thus, the secondary face of the small Hierakonpolis palette is compositionallystructuredmuch as the secondary faces of the palettes described above, i.e., a central, vertical element (in this case implied, not formally defined) flanked by more or less symmetricallyarrangedand sometimes stacked elements. Thus far, I have not discussed the two palettes decorated only on their primaryfaces, namely the MetropolitanMuseum fragment 28.9.8 and the Hunters' Palette. As reconstructedby Fischer,39the Metropolitan Museum fragment could be said to combine the circulatoryand the verticallylinear modes in its composition. At first glance, its imageryseems largelyto follow a circulatorymode, swirling around the centrallyplaced, circularcosmetic area. However, a more detailed examination leads to a more nuanced interpretation. From the top of the cosmetic area downwards, the circulatory mode is dominant; the vertical axis plays no important role- see especially the way in which animals' bodies fully cross the verticalaxis, rather than recognizing its existence. But, above the cosmetic area, the verticalaxis plays an importantpart in structuringthe composition. The bodies of the dogs suckling from the wild dogs on either side are verticallystackedin a way seen on other palette faces where the verticallylinear mode was dominant, and their bodies do not cross the vertical axis (except very marginally,in one case). Given this careful symmetricalarrangement,we can I think conclude that the only element- the royal serekh- which does cross the vertical axis is not ignoring the axis, but instead emphasizingit. 38 CompareCase and Payne, "Tomb100: the decorated tomb at Hierakonpolis,"13, fig. 4.1 with W. Emery,ArchaicEgypt (Middlesex,1961), 39, fig. 1. 59Fischer,"A Fragmentof a Late PredynasticEgyptianRelief,"64-88.
UNDERSTANDINGCEREMONIALSLATEPALETTES
Fig. 5. MetropolitanMuseum Fragment 28.9.8; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
17
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JARCE XXXIX (2002)
Fig. 6. Hunters' Palette; drawing by Simon Sullivan. Scale: cms.
As for the Hunters' Palette, I would suggest it combines the two compositional modes- circulatory and vertically linear- in an even more complex way. The imagery on all other palettes is arranged in terms of the longer axis of the palette: the field of imagery thus appears as one taller than it is wide, and often narrower at the base than the top. Representationsof humans, animals and other items have their heads towardsthe top, or broader width, and their feet or bases towardsthe bottom, or narrowerwidth (framing figures, on the lower part of palettes, are an exception). The Hunters' Palette is unique in that nearly all the many figures making up its imageryare placed in terms of the shorter dimension, not the longer dimension of the palette. Thus, their heads and feet point towards what would normally be considered the sides, rather than the top and bottom of the palette. One small set of representationsat the top however is oriented in the more usual way.Another peculiarity is that the two rows of "hunters,"one on each side, are oriented so bothrows have their heads pointing to the sides, rather than just one: thus, again uniquely, one row of "hunters"is alwaysupside down vis a vis the other row. If we look at the palette (an unusuallyelongated one) according to the orientation of most of the figures- as described immediatelyabove- the palette's imageryappears to be composed according to a circulatorymode. That is, the figures are arrangedin "registers"(without ground lines) of relatively small height, which run above, on either side, and below the cosmetic area, in a way that I would define as circulatoryin the same way as the primaryface of the Narmer Palette and of the Battlefield or Lion's Palette. However, we may also look at the palette with its longest dimension upright, as a field taller than it is wide, and with a clearlydefined top, as indicated by the few figures whose heads point toward this top. We are permitted to do this implicitlyby the conventions governing all other known palettes and explicitlyby the handful of figures which are oriented according to this convention. Seen in this perspective, the circulatorymode is strongly subordinatedto one of vertical linearity. The circular cosmetic area is associated with a circulatorydesign, although an incomplete one. The swirl of figures above it (hare, dog, herbivore and slain hunter, arrangedin a circulatorymode echo-
UNDERSTANDINGCEREMONIALSLATEPALETTES
19
ing the cosmetic area), the extended, curving "hunter"with lasso on its right, the extended lasso itself, and the two herbivores immediatelybelow the cosmetic area- all, combined together, could be considered as a circulatorydesign extending around three quartersof the cosmetic area. However, the larger composition, covering the whole palette and including the circulatorilyarranged figures just mentioned, is very definitely in the verticallylinear mode. The overall composition is structured as three elongated, vertically organized stacks. On either side, we have stacksof "hunters"with, on the top at the right, two lions, a building and the combined foreparts of two bulls as well. Up the center, we have a stack of animals(and one bird), a stackwhich also includes the circulatorygroup (animals and a "hunter")above the cosmetic area. This is essentiallythe design structurewe have seen on the secondaryfaces of other palettes, i.e., Narmerflanked by symmetricallyarrangedfigures, or a tree flankedby heraldicallyarrangedgiraffes.One might even say the two stacks of "hunters"recall the figures (humans, or personified entities) on either side of Narmer, and the central stack of animals- narrowlike a trunkbelow, and expanding outwardsimmediately below and above the cosmetic area- echoes the tree form which is a central feature on the secondaryfaces of some palettes. I shall return to the significanceof this compositional differentiationbetween primaryand secondary faces and of the combination of circulatoryand verticallylinear compositions on palettes with only the primaryface decorated. For the moment however we need to briefly address the content of imagery;does it too vary according as to whether it is on a primaryor secondary face? Here, the Narmer Palette is a good starting point, for the differentiationis clear. The secondary face is visuallydominated by a centrallyplaced figure of the king in aggressive mode, which forms part of a larger emblematicgroup. The king appearson the primaryface also, but on a smallerscale, in a less aggressive pose and in a peripheral location. Moreover, he is set in a scene which is less strongly emblematic, although the scene at the base is an emblematic one in which a bull may embody the king. In any event, the king visuallydominates the secondary face, but the primaryface is dominated by materialrelevant to the deity, the cosmetic area and the elaborate composition of two restrainedserpopardssurroundingit. There is also a strong contrast in the subject matter of the primary and secondary faces of the Battlefield or Lion Palette, and the Louvre Palette respectively.On the secondary faces of both are variantsof the tree flanked by giraffesmotif alreadydiscussed. The repetition of this motif on these and other palettes40indicates it had a definite meaning, which cannot be reconstructed with any certainty.Cialowicznotes with approvalWilliams'suggestion that the rosette seen on some late prehistoric and early historic objects "est un palmier transformedet la symbole du pharaon"41and quotes Williams'notion "thatpalm may even have been used as a substitute for (the king's)figure in NakadaIlia, like a serekh."42These interesting ideas however are even more speculativethan ones we normallyhave to resort to in interpreting early Egyptianart. In any case, on the Battlefield or Lion Palette the secondary face depicts humans (mostly slain or captured enemies), and even a robed figure (partiallypreserved)which could be interpreted as a triumphant ruler. However, the latter is on the same scale as his prisoner, and in any case the entire composition is not only completely different in content from the secondary face, but also visually dominated by the feature pertaining directlyto deity, namely the cosmetic area. In fact, the prisoners are being driven, on either side, towardsthat blank and seemingly neutral area, as if it stood for the deity itself, receiving the captured enemy. 40 Cialowicz, Les palettes egyptiennesaux motifszoomorpheset sans decoration,52-55. 41 Ibid., 75. 42 Ibid., 73.
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The contrast between secondary and primaryfaces of the Louvre Palette is less marked, but clear enough. Above the cosmetic area are a bird and a lion and below is a serpopard,none of which occur on the secondaryface. In terms of its size, and compositional centrality,the cosmetic area- associated with the deity- visuallydominates. As for the small Hierakonpolispalette, at first glance the two faces seem to have much imageryin common. Both depict only animals (and once a bird) except for an upright figure playing a flute (?) variouslyinterpreted as an animal playing a human role, or a human masked as an animal.43Other shared themes include the hunting of some animals(all herbivores)by others (domesticated dogs and wild felines), and the apparentconsumption of herbivoresby felines (serpopards,lions). Yet this said, there are also significantdifferences.The primaryface is dominated visuallyby the cosmetic area and the serpopards encircling it (occupying about 2/3 of the palette), whereas the secondary face has no immediatelyobvious visual focus at all. The two heraldicallyarrangedlions might be considered one, but they are much less emphasized in terms of the surrounding imagery. Moreover, domesticated dogs are found only on the primaryface; and while two felines (serpopards) occur on the primary face, no less than five, in great variety,are depicted on the secondary one (two lions, a serpopard, a cheetah (?) and a fabulous winged feline with a bird's head). This last is unique in so far as palettes are concerned, as is the flute-playingbeing, and other figures on the secondaryface are relativelyrare on palettes (e.g., the giraffe, and a wild bull as prey, rather than as an aggressor).The figures on the primaryface, on the other hand, are all ones occurringrelativelycommonly on other palettes- serpopards, dogs (wild and domestic), and herbivores.Thus, in fact, the two faces of the small Hierakonpolis palette are differentiatedin many ways,which- given the elaboratenature of the palette- we can reasonablyinfer to have been intentional. As to the two palettes decorated on the primaryface only (Hunters', and Metropolitan Museum fragment 28.9.8), both are naturallyvisuallydominated by the cosmetic area. However, they do combine-as shown above- both circulatoryand verticallylinear compositional modes, and on the Metropolitan palette at least these two modes are associatedwith different subject matter.Above (vertically linear mode) the focus is a royal serekh and young dogs suckling from the framing dogs; below (circulatory mode) the dogs are mature and one, perhaps two serpopardsare present. On the Hunter's Palette the interaction of the circulatoryand the verticallylinear modes is, however, too complex and too greatlyoverlapped to distinguish subjectmatter associatedwith one, rather than the other mode. IV Thus far, I have attempted to demonstrate that in terms of both function and context the more elaborate ceremonial palettes each have a primary and secondary face. Moreover, I have also suggested that when both faces are decorated a marked, if sometimes subtle distinction is maintained between the two faces in terms of compositional structure and, to some degree, content. I should now like to make some general conclusions, and then some inferences about this situation. The latter will include some observationsabout the meanings of the imageryupon which such evident care- in both thought and execution- was lavished. First, as to conclusions: As we have seen, the imagery on the palettes was structuredby two different modes of composition, which I have called the circulatoryand the verticallylinear. To some degree, both modes related to physicalcharacteristicsof the palettes themselves.The invariablycircular 43 Ibid., 45-46.
UNDERSTANDINGCEREMONIALSLATEPALETTES
21
cosmetic area would naturallyhave encouraged or stimulated a circulatorycomposition of imagery around it. However, the typicallyelongated form of the palettes is conducive to the verticallylinear mode, in which a centralfeature extends for most or much of the palette'sverticalaxis, and is flanked either by tall single figures, or verticallystacked figures. Nevertheless, the Hunters' Palette and the MetropolitanMuseum fragment 28.9.8 show that the face with the circularcosmetic area can be successfullytreated in the verticallylinear mode, covering much or all of the surface. Conversely,the other face would easily have had its imagerystructuredin a circulatorymode, despite the absence on this face of a circularcosmetic area. Thus, we find that- with the more elaborate palettes- when both faces are decorated, the primary face (with cosmetic area) alwayshas its imagery structuredcirculatorily,and the other or secondary face alwaysin terms of verticallinearity,and we can reasonablyconclude this was intentional. This suggests that each of the two compositional modes had a specific value or meaning, and was not simply a product of an effort to maintain a purely visual, value-neutraldifferentiationbetween the two faces. This notion is reinforced by the circumstances,alreadydiscussed, that when only one face was decorated, both the circulatory and the vertically linear compositional modes were employed. This would seem to mean that each mode had a value or meaning directly relevant to the palettes themselves, and hence both had to be present on every palette. However, for preference both faces of a palette were decorated according to the consistent patterning discussed above, so far as compositional modes were concerned. This indicates that the specific value or meaning of each mode related directlyto the value or meaning of the face- primary or secondary-with which it was associated. These then are what I consider reasonable conclusions that can be made. I now turn to inferences, which are of their nature more speculative and not based so closely- as I believe the conclusions were- on the physicalcharacteristics,and the basic functions and likely contexts of the palettes. The primaryface is, for reasons alreadysuggested, the one intimatelyand directly associatedwith the deity to whom it is dedicated. That deity, insofar as one can see, is never directlydepicted on the palette.44However, the significance of the association is clear; palette and divine images are linked via the cosmetic which, prepared or presented on the palette, was then applied to the image in a process that- if we can invoke later analogies- led to the revitalizationor rebirth of the deity. This then suggests that the circulatorymode of composition was linked to these particularassociations, and that the subjectmatter chosen for the primaryface was also. Howthat imageryis to be read is another issue, much discussed in the scholarlyliteraturebut perhaps ultimatelyunsolvable. What then of the secondary face? Recall that earlier I suggested that this may well have been seen as the "lower"or "outside"face of the palette; or, to put it in another way,it is the face of the palette that interfaces with that which is potentially impure, polluting, chaotic and destructive (again, I invoke analogies) while the primaryface interfaces with that which is divine, productive, pure and order generating. I have pointed out how, in ritualuse, the primaryface would be literallysuperordinate i.e. above the secondary,below and hence subordinate. But the distinction between the interfaces would make this a conceptual notion of super-and sub-ordinationas well. However, the secondaryface is nevertheless extraordinarilyimportant,for it is the one that shields and protects the primaryface from that potential pollution and chaotic, negative force. I therefore 44For a contraryopinion, see E.J. Baumgartel,TheCulturesof Prehistoric EgyptII (London, 1960), 94; Westendorf'sideas aux motifszoomorphes et sans decoration, about deities representedon palettes- summarizedin Cialowicz,Lespalettesegyptiennes 16, 74- do not relate to the deity who "owns"the palette.
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JARCE XXXIX (2002)
suggest that the verticallylinear mode and the subject matter typical of the secondary face express, relate to, or enhance the apotropaicpower and function of the secondaryface. This notion finds its best support in the Narmer Palette, where the imagery on the secondary face not only has an inherent protective quality (the king and the dynasticgod subdue, dominate and reduce to helplessness foreign or rebellious enemies, emblematic of disorder), but also is the progenitor of a well-knownhistoric image represented endlessly on temple exteriors to protect the purity and order within, from the pollution and chaotic forces without.45However, the secondary faces of earlier palettes do not have such a direct connection with later imagery and its functions, and here specificallyapotropaic aspects of the imageryare much harder to identify. One possibilityis that on earlierpalettes the ruler continued to be the motive power of the apotropaic force that was provided to, or was inherent within the secondaryface, but that the waysin which the ruler or 'ruling force' were represented is less clear to us. Thus, we have seen an association has been suggested between the emblematicgroup of tree and giraffeson the one hand, and the ruler on the other, although the highly speculative nature of this notion should be stressed. On the other hand, the formalityof this design could have been emblematic of "order"in itself, and hence defensive against "disorder."On the small Hierakonpolis palette, references to a ruler or ruling force might also be detectable on the secondary face. For example, the aggressivefelines several times depicted there might embody the notion of rulership,46and its capacityto overcome chaotic force, here symbolized by the wild herbivores. However, the imagery might incorporate other images of order, based on ideas unknown to us, such as the two heraldicallyarrangedlions, or the giraffe which elsewhere is incorporated into compositions of great symmetry,formalityand "order." In any event, I would suggest that associating the imagery of secondaryfaces with notions of protection, and of order repelling or subduing disorder, provides a useful basis for further researchinto that imagery. The suggestions I havejust made would at first glance be contradicted and even disproved by the Hunters' Palette and the MetropolitanMuseum fragment 28.9.8, for in both cases no necessity was felt to decorate the secondary, supposedly apotropaic face. This circumstance however still leaves open the possibilitythat the secondaryface was considered to be the interface between the palette on the one hand, and pollution and disorder on the other, and that this apotropaic quality or attribute was inherent in the secondary face, whether it was decorated or not. Why in fact the secondary face was not decorated in these particularinstances is something we cannot now determine. What is noteworthy about these two palettes, as I have shown above, is that on their primaryfaces there is an otherwise unique combination of both the circulatoryand verticallylinear modes of composition. This suggests that given the decision not to decorate the secondary face, it was still felt necessary to provide the palette with the two distinct sets of associations or attributesembodied in, respectively,the circulatoryand verticallylinear modes. Insofar as the latter reinforced or made manifest the apotropaic protection required by, or inherent in the palette, its presence on the primary face was a variant on the apotropaic role more usually identified, via decoration, on the secondary face. Some support for this notion is provided by the Metropolitan Museum fragment. Here, a royal serekh is assigned a central, if low-lyingposition within the verticallylinear composition occupying
45 E. Swan Hall, The Pharaoh Smites his Enemies: a ComparativeStudy. MAS 44 (Berlin, 1986).
46Baines,
"Originsof EgyptianKingship,"109-21.
UNDERSTANDINGCEREMONIALSLATEPALETTES
23
the upper part of the palette's primaryface. This, in visual terms, strongly associates this mode with the ruler, as is more spectacularlythe case with the secondaryface of the Narmer Palette. The preceding discussion has, I hope, shown that the main factor influencing the composition and selection of the imageryupon ceremonial palettes was the very different associationsof their primary and secondary faces. This does not mean that the palettes were consequently not significant works of art. On the contrary,analyses such as those of Davis, Cialowicz, and myself (whatever may be thought of our respectiveconclusions and suggestions) demonstratethat compositionallythe palettes are quite complex, and highly structured;and that their variegated, yet ultimately highly selective subject matter is intriguing to us, and likely quite meaningful to the early Egyptians.Thus, to call them "minormonuments"47or "smallmonuments"48is quitejustified, since their aesthetic qualities are high. Nevertheless, the adjectives"minor"and "small"are significant, and lead me to a final and more general observation about the art-historicalsignificance of the ceremonial palettes. I have already suggested above that they, like other relativelysmall decorated objects of the period, are minor manifestations of a larger system of art which likely included programmaticallyorganized wall scenes in temples, and royal and elite mortuarychapels. The relationshipof the palettes to the larger system is I think not very much illuminatedby the various theories about the meanings of the imageryon the palettes which are currentlypopular, although these theories may indeed be revealingabout specific aspects of the art on the palettes themselves. I would suggest that a more specific relationship between this art and the larger contemporary system of art is, however, indicated by the theory I argue for above, namely that the imagery on the palettes relates specifically to the palettes' dualistic roles. These roles are primarilyto service an importantritual need of the deity to whom each palette is dedicated and secondarily-but essentially- to protect that ritual service from potential pollution or disruption. These I suggest were the issues that motivated the selection of imagery and motifs for the decoration of the palettes, selections made from the repertory of images and motifs of the larger system, and especiallywall scenes. These scenes would have encompassed a wider range of imagerythan that actuallyused on the palettes. This is indicated by, for example, the extreme rarityof ships on the palettes (one tiny example on the primaryface of the Narmer Palette),whereas ships are a relativelyfrequent motif on small objects of contemporarydates.49Thus, only imageryparticularlyrelevantto the palettes' functions and meanings were selected by the responsible patrons, designers and artisans. Within the context of the larger system of art, this imagery may have displayed its various meanings (whatever they might have been) in ways significantlydifferent from the ways in which these meanings were incorporated into the decoration of the palettes. Here the Hierakonpoliswall painting, discussed above, is a good case in point. It includes imageryand motifs (especiallyinsofar as interrelatedgroups of carnivores,herbivoresand humans are concerned) found on the palettes, but in the wall painting these images and motifs are visuallysubordinateto a "fleet"of large ships, whereas on the palettes they are visuallydominant and sometimes exclusive images and motifs. Naturally,the palettesreflectmajordevelopmentsin the largersystem,especiallya change of emphasis from predominantlyanimalto predominantlyhuman imageryand the introduction of regularizing 47Millet, "TheNarmermaceheadand related
objects,"59.
48 Smith, Art and Architecture Ancient of Egypt, 12. 9 See Ridley, Unification of Egypt,passim; Vandier, Manuel d'archaeologieegyptienne;Williams and Logan, "The Metropolitan
MuseumKnife Handle and Aspects of PharaonicImagerybefore Narmer."
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features such as ground lines and horizontalregisters.Nevertheless,we might reasonablysuspect that imagery was alwayschosen because its content and meaning related particularlywell to the primary functions of the palettes (as defined above) and not necessarilyto convey or emphasize the primary points of the larger scale and more complex compositions that were the source of the imagery.Thus, these compositions might have highlighted myths, rituals,historicalevents, and ceremonial re-enactments of such events; and also have been a source drawnupon for other minor arts, such as representations of year names on year labels, which in turn could also have influenced the imageryused upon ceremonial palettes. However, the designers of the imagery upon the palettes were not necessarily trying to highlight these myths, rituals, events or year names as such, although surely the meanings they had were part of the associations that attractedthese designers. Rather,on the palettes these aspects of the original sources were likely subordinated to the primaryfunctions of the palettes- ritual service and its apotropaic protection- and to this degree the selection of the imageryemployed was relativelyarbitrary. Institute of Fine Arts, New YorkUniversity Addendum Since this article was accepted for publication the discovery of a new ceremonial slate paletteonly the third to be recovered via excavation-has been reported (Zahi Hawass, Hidden Treasuresof the EgyptianMuseum(Cairo, 2002), xii-xiv, and plate on p. 5). The palette was found in a "large cemetery . . . with tombs dating to the First Dynasty"at ManshiatEzza, near the town of Simbillaween in the EgyptianDelta (ibid.,xii). Stylistically,the palette would seem to antedate the 1st Dynasty, and belong more to Dynasty0. If specificallyfrom a tomb, it would be the first ceremonial palette from a mortuary context. In this case, it might either have serviced the cult of the tomb owner's statue (akin to that of a deity) or been part of the ritual equipment the tomb owner had used, while alive, to service the cult of a deity'sstatue. The palette is relativelysmall (height 23 cm, maximumwidth 21.5 cm) and decorated on one face only. As with other palettes decorated on only one face, it combines the modes of circularityand vertical linearity,but in a comparativelysubtle and complex way. The cosmetic area is defined by the necks of two confronted serpopardsand hence evokes circularity;but the necks do not overlapacross the vertical axis of the palette (compare the Narmer Palette) and the heads and upper necks of the serpopardsare arrangedin a markedlyformal pattern, all these circumstancesevoking verticallinearity.A large hare represented at the bottom of the palette straddlesits verticalaxis, while an herbivore and above it a dog curve around the left-hand side of the cosmetic area; these circumstancesrepresent circularity.Much of the right-handside of the palette is occupied by an emphaticallyvertical tree, of a type used on other palettes to structureverticallylinear patterns, as here. Finally,the dog is attackingthe rear of a large creaturewhich is almost certainlya giraffe, as Ann Roth pointed out to me; unfortunately,its head is the only part of the palette missing. The body of the giraffefills the upper left quadrantof the palette and completes the (semi-)circularpattern around the left side of the cosmetic area created by the herbivore and dog. However, the neck of the giraffe (and its now missing head) was not only treated as a free-standingsculpture, but is located virtuallyon, or alongside, the vertical axis of the palette, and hence, along with the tree described above, becomes part of the verticallylinear dimension of the palette's decoration. Thus, as on other palettes decorated on one side only, the desire to combine the two forms of decoration is evident.
UNDERSTANDINGCEREMONIALSLATEPALETTES
Fig. 7. Palettefrom Manshiat Ezza, near Simbillaween;drawing by David O'Connor.Scale: cms.
25
