Kushite Headdresses and ‘Kushite’ Style *

Abstract

A review of three reliefs recently proposed as examples of Twenty-fifth Dynasty kings wearing the blue crown shows that none can be accepted as evidence that the Kushites wore this headdress. The most important example proves to be a Twenty-sixth Dynasty recarving of a blue crown over an original Kushite headdress, which leads to remarks on royal headdresses, and on the dynamics of style and iconography in this period.