---
node: garment_khat
type: garment
slug: khat
title: "Khat headdress"
lead: "The khat is the plain bag-like headcloth of ancient Egypt, a cloth drawn over the head and gathered into a pouch at the back. Simpler than the striped nemes, it was a common royal and divine headdress."
published: 2026-08-10
updated: 2026-08-10
image_file: khat.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head_of_king_or_queen_in_Khat_headdress_MET_21.9.2_view_1.jpg"
image_author: "The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
image_license: "CC0"
---

## Overview

A khat (or afnet) is a soft headcloth that covers the crown and hair and is tied so the excess hangs down the back in a bag or tail, without the stiff striped lappets of the nemes. Undecorated and close-fitting, it framed the face plainly.

## How it is worn

It is drawn over the head and bound with a band or fillet, the loose cloth gathered behind, worn by kings and queens in less formal or funerary contexts and by certain deities. It could be topped by a crown or the uraeus cobra at the brow.

## History

The khat is attested from the Middle Kingdom and used throughout later Egyptian art as a quieter alternative to the nemes, often in funerary and religious scenes. Its plain, enveloping shape appears on royal statuary and coffins for the rest of the pharaonic age.