a rectangular frame containing the king's name and decorated with a niched facade representing the palace

A form of decoration found on the facades of royal palaces, also a frame to the Horus name of the king which was part of the royal titulary.

The serekh is a stylised rectangle which contained the Horus name of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (they had five regal names each). Made up of two compartments, the bottom contains parallel lines which represent the frontal view of a palace. The top compartment represents a plan view of the courtyard of the palace.