Wig Belonging to Nany

This is a 3,000 year old wig, which was found inside the coffin of a woman called Nany. She held the title “King’s Daughter of His Body”, and Egyptologists think her father was Pinedjem I (a High Priest of Amun who used the title “King” during the 21st Dynasty).

The wig is (probably) made of human hair, and then coated in beeswax. You can see that it’s made of a collection of braids which are gathered together along the central parting and would’ve fallen to either side of the head, the longest braid is 25cm long.

Egyptian art shows Egyptians with black hair, yet this wig is brown. I’m not sure why that is (and couldn’t find an answer), it might be that the colour choice in art is more conventional than realistic or it might be that this wig has faded over time.

It wasn’t intended to cover up baldness, but instead seems to be a fashion accessory – if you look closely at 3D depictions of women on coffins or as statues then you will often see the woman’s real hair depicted as poking out along the forehead from under her wig.