---
node: garment_nemes
type: garment
slug: nemes
title: "Nemes"
lead: "The nemes is the striped royal headcloth of ancient Egypt, drawn over the head with two lappets falling in front of the shoulders and the rest bound into a tail behind. Crowned by the uraeus cobra, it is the emblem of the pharaoh."
published: 2026-08-10
updated: 2026-08-10
image_file: nemes.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_a_Ptolemaic_king_in_pharaonic_regalia,_wearing_the_nemes_headdress_and_the_Double_Crown,_limestone_-_Museo_Egizio_(Turin)_S_18176_p01.jpg"
image_author: "Museo Egizio, Turin"
image_license: "CC0"
---

## Overview

A nemes is a large cloth of striped fabric fitted across the forehead, its sides brought forward over the shoulders in two broad flaps and its length gathered and bound into a queue at the back. The blue-and-gold stripes and the cobra-and-vulture at the brow marked royalty.

## How it is worn

It is set on the head over a band at the forehead, the two front lappets framing the face and the tail secured behind, worn alone or beneath a crown. Reserved for the king (and gods), it appears on statues, reliefs, and the golden mask of Tutankhamun.

## History

The nemes is attested from the Old Kingdom — the Great Sphinx wears it — and remained the defining royal headdress for the whole of pharaonic history. More than any garment, its striped shape is the instantly recognised sign of an Egyptian king.