Khat
Depiction of thekhat
Details
Country	Ancient Egypt
Material	Linen

Thekhat was a head cloth worn inAncient Egypt. It was similar to thenemes headdress, but did not have pleats or stripes like thenemes did.^[1]

Thekhat was worn by laborers while doing tasks such aswinnowing grain.^[2] It was also worn bythe king and by certain deities. It is strongly connected to the goddessesIsis,Nephthys, andNut.^[3]  

Thekhat dates back to at least the reign of theFirst Dynasty kingDen, as he is shown wearing thekhat and brandishing amace on anivory label found atAbydos.^[4]

Extant examples were found inKV54, where materials from the embalming ofTutankhamun were cached,^[5] and others that belonged to Tutankhamun were found withinhis tomb.^[6] Additionally, theking's mummy wore akhat within the layers of wrappings; it was padded to the appropriate shape, and fitted with a gold browband and uraeus and vulture emblems.^[7]

Illustration of the construction of Tutankhamun'skhats

Illustration of the construction of akhat

Thekhat was made from a rectangular or semicircular piece oflinen, likely with ties at the front.^[3] It could be secured with a headband and gathered and tied at the back of the head. In depictions of thekhat, it could be white, red, or yellow, and an extant example that was dyed blue has been found.

• 
  Modern depiction of a king wearing akhat
• 
  Hery-Maat, a god depicted wearing akhat in the tomb ofKhaemwaset (QV44) and the tomb ofTyti (QV52)^[8]
• 
  Relief ofThutmose II depicting him wearing a whitekhat
• 
  Relief ofThutmose III depicting him wearing a whitekhat
• 
  Reconstructed scene from thetomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) depicting Tutankhamun wearing a whitekhat
• 
  Relief ofSeti I depicting him wearing a whitekhat
• 
  Relief of Seti I depicting him wearing a yellowkhat
• 
  Winnowers wearingkhats from thetomb of Nakht (TT52)
• 
  Painting of a relief ofIsis, depicting her wearing a whitekhat with a red headband
• 
  Bluekhat from Tutankhamun's embalming cache
• 
  Whitekhat from Tutankhamun's embalming cache

• Toby A. H. Wilkinson,Early Dynastic Egypt, Routledge 1999

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