4 MEN (Middle Kingdom, Dynasties XI-XVII)Garments:Outer upper: sleeved tunic of heavy or transparent linen, unbelted and reaching to knee; belted tunic of opaque, soft material.Outer lower: continuation of older types; transparent outerskirt over underskirt, both skirts same length at first, then outerskirt narrow, and longer in back than in front.Under: loin cloth.Cloaks and overgarments: shawl; draped robe with opening for head, side forming draped sleeve, sometimes left unsewed.Hair: wig set low on forehead covering ears; long-haired wig with hair falling back from crown.Headdress: pshent; badge; claft, helmet-like cap ornamented with royal asp.Footwear: sandal often lined with cloth, embroidered in gold and decorated with enamel and jewels, sometimes ornamental clasp over instep, heelless sandal with turned-up toe worn by upper class; enemy sandal with picture of enemy on inside of sole; mourner unsandaled.1. Symbol of Royalty 2. Claft 3. Vulture Cap 4. Asp 5. Mantle 6. Sacred Beetle or Scarab 7. Feather Headdress 8. Horus Lock 9. Fillet 10. Cape 11. Cone 12. BadgeAccessories: waist belt with elaborate, long, narrow apron; royal apron decorated with colored feathers, asp, lion’s head, and polychrome glass, attached to girdle; apron with master’s name worn by slave; lion’s tail sometimes worn at back of skirt of royalty, cross, or key of life; walking stick about 6 feet long, and with head resembling flower or other ornament.Jewelry: refer to B. 6.Typical Colors: green popular; white generally used by upper class triad of colors used—black, yellow, and red; red, blue, and white; dark blue, light blue, and white; cream, blue, and black; dark red, medium yellow, and blue; also dazzling white, red, saffron, blue, or black costume; colors in manuscripts distinguish types: woman (yellow); man (red); deified king (black); nobleman (usually white); god (green); slave (blue).Typical Materials: wool, considered unclean by priest, worn by layman; costliness of material used in costume distinguished class; heavy and transparent linen used in tunic; fine linen of natural color, bleached, or dyed, often embroidered with gold, silver, and purple by upper class; cotton or linen cap; leopard skin worn by priest; papyrus plant or matting for tight, short costumes used by lower class; woven palm leaves or papyrus, wood or leather used for sandal.Make-up: skin painted or dyed; unguents and oils used; false ceremonial beard, with or without slender line along jawbone, length determining rank of person.
5 WOMEN (Middle Kingdom, Dynasties, XI-XVII)Garments:Outer upper: tunic with strap across shoulder or with kimono sleeve; robe of opaque, soft material, similar to a man’s garment although draped differently and girded.Outer lower: transparent outer skirt; wraparound skirt with fullness at front; skirt longer than the man’s and belted higher; plain wraparound skirt, the garment of slave.Cloaks and overgarments: shawl; shoulder cape; rectangular cape.Hair: short bob similar to type worn by man; sometimes rather long with.curled ends, worn behind ears; black wig ornamented with gold, having 2 tresses extending to the breast.Headdress: elaborate, or merely a circlet of gold worn by royalty; vulture cap, uraeus, plumed or feather headdress; crown of Lower Egypt worn over crown of Upper Egypt by queen; fillet with naturalistic lotus; decorated cloth over wig; perfumed cone 4 to 6 inches high.1. Wig 2. Winged Globe 3. Pshent 4. Arm Band 5. Wraparound Skirt 6. Tunic 7. Papyrus or ReedFootwear: sandal with turned-up toe.Accessories: parasol used on chariot and for ceremonial procession; fan of leaves, palmetto, or dyed feathers; walking stick, 4 to 6 feet long; hair comb of wood or ivory; stick of ivory, wood, bronze, or glass used for applying make-up; container of alabaster for kohl; mirror of highly polished metal.Jewelry: breast plate; elaborate girdle clasp; gold, silver, bronze, faience, and enamel earrings; rings; pectoral; bead necklace with pendant in form of amulet or sacred animal; flat bracelet and arm bands; sometimes anklet. Refer to C. 6.Typical Colors: green very popular at first, white, yellow, and red also worn; white very fashionable later.Typical Materials: very fine linen.Make-up: body oils of various kinds, including castor oil; eye and brow made longer with kohl; eyeshadow of blue or green made of malachite; ochre used on cheeks; henna used to color fingertips and toes; superfluous hair plucked; special care given to teeth; bone or ivory false teeth held in place with gold wires; false beard attached by a gold chin strap sometimes worn by queen.
6 MEN (New Kingdom, Dynasties XVIII-XXX)Garments:Outer upper: many changes in style of clothing for man; shirt introduced in Dynasty XVIII, tucked under girdle; tunic sometimes with sleeve for left arm only, right arm free for movement; kalasiris.Outer lower: length of skirt from just below the knee to the ankle; many variations of skirt, including looped puffs, giving first suggestion of drapery worn in latter part of Dynasty XVIII; underskirt longer and wider, sometimes with pleating; short skirt, similar to antique type, worn by great lords of Egypt, gold ornament added to this skirt; pleating resembling accordion pleating becoming popular in Dynasty XIX; slave with scanty clothing.Under: loin cloth.Cloaks and overgarments: large, loose mantle, fashionable about 1350-1090 B.C.; later, a kind of fringed shawl.Additional garments: highly decorated garment worn by the pharaoh; official robe elaborately draped.Hair: artificial wig; long wavy hair; sometimes longer wig ending in corkscrew curls; after 1150 B.C. wig sometimes dyed blue or red; wig with hair parted in middle and rippled to shoulder; one type showing the ears and with neat rolls hanging down below collarbone, resembling the claft.Headdress: simple fillet sometimes worn by man not of royal blood; uraeus used on front of headdress.Footwear: shoe and boot worn. Refer to D. 4.Accessories: sash worn in various ways in this period; golden clasp at girdle on festive occasions. Refer to D. 5.Jewelry: refer to B. 6.Typical Colors: refer to D. 7.Typical Materials: linen in a variety of weaves, fineness of texture of great importance. Refer to D. 8.Make-up: refer to B. 9.
7 WOMEN (New Kingdom, Dynasties XVIII-XXX)Garments:Outer upper and outer lower: tunic, tight or full, with or without sleeve or shoulder strap, belted higher than man’s, length to calf of leg, to ankle, or to ground; at beginning of Dynasty XVIII, left shoulder only, covered by dress; bell-shaped tunic; kalasiris; transparent outer skirt, often with drapery, pleating resembling accordion pleating.Under: thick undergarment in Dynasty XX.Cloaks and overgarments: long mantle, shawl with embroidered hem, clasped at the breast.Hair: stiff conventional form, parted in middle, falling in curls; in Dynasty XVIII; many styles after Dynasty XVIII; hair or wig in heavy mass to waist in Dynasty XX; dyed in fantastic colors such as blue and red after 1150 B.C.; black wig, ornamented with gold plaques or spirals.Headdress: refer to E. 3.Footwear: refer to E. 4.Accessories: refer to E. 5.Jewelry: ends of bracelets in design of lion’s head, after Dynasty XX. Refer to E. 6.Typical Colors: refer to E. 7.Typical Materials: refer to E. 8.Make-up: refer to E. 9.
SIGNIFICANT MOTIFS
The zig-zag form, sacred beetle or scarab, royal asp, royal snake or uraeus, ostrich feathers, hawk and vulture, the cross or key of life, fret, lily or lotus, winged globe, papyrus or reed, scroll.
INFLUENCES ON LATER COSTUMES
High-waisted garment and long narrow skirt of French Directory, 1795-99; lotus and scarab in designs after opening of Tutankahem’s tomb, 1922; extreme make-up, late 1920’s; accordion pleating, 12th century, 1920, ’21, ’37, ’39, ’40, ’47-’52; handbag, 1929, using shape of rush skirt as a suggestion; cape in various periods from Egyptian cape of 3000 B.C.; drapery in 1936, ’37, ’48, ’51, and ’52, showing influence of Egyptian period; walking stick carried in Middle Ages, about 1800, and in later times; right sleeve only, sometimes used in evening dress, 1949 (left sleeve only used in Egyptian costume).
BOOKS OF REFERENCE
(See also GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, p. 433)
Breasted, James H., Egyptian Servant Statues (Washington, D. C., The Bollingen Press, 1948)
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