Based on ancient artistic representations, some Egyptologists have speculated that the khepresh was made of leather or stiffened cloth[3] covered with a precise arrangement of hundreds of sequins, discs, bosses, or rings.

The earliest known mention of the khepresh is on the stela Cairo JE 59635 [CG 20799] which dates to the reign of pharaoh Neferhotep III, during the Second Intermediate Period.

The earliest known depiction of the khepresh is on the stela Cairo CG 20517 which dates to the reign of Snaaib, during the Second Intermediate Period.

However, some scholars think that the crown was also meant to evoke the divine power of the pharaoh, and was thereby worn to religiously situate kings as manifestations of gods on earth.

This crown continued to evolve during the early Eighteenth Dynasty, attaining its best-known form in the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.