ANCIENT EGYPTIAN, ASSYRIAN, AND
PERSIAN COSTUMES

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
ASSYRIAN AND
PERSIAN COSTUMES
AND DECORATIONS

BY
MARY   G.   HOUSTON
AND
FLORENCE S. HORNBLOWER

CONTAINING TWENTY-FIVE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS,
SIXTEEN OF THEM IN COLOUR, AND SIXTY LINE
DIAGRAMS IN THE TEXT

A. & C. BLACK, LIMITED
4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. 1.
1920

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the book, the illustrations are given by means of facsimiles of drawings by artists of the various centuries, so that a historic survey of the History of Figure Drawing will be included. Where the drawings of primitive artists do not clearly express the ideas intended to be conveyed, a modern drawing of the garment on a dress-stand will be used for explanation of the measured drawings of the cut-out garments. The growing appreciation of the beauty and value of the earlier and more primitive systems of cutting shown in modern dress designing for the last decade, when the so-called Magyar blouse (really the simple tunic common to all primitive folk) began to be popular, will make the present volume a convenient form of inspiration for designers; also, where more exact reproduction is needed, as in theatrical work, pageantry, and so forth, the careful working out of the details of cut and decoration will expedite production and save hours of fruitless searching in reference libraries.

To the Art Student, in addition to the always interesting history of costume, the development of the Art of Representation, as shown in the illustrations of these volumes, which is so strangely repeated in the personal history of every young person learning to draw, will be attractive and instructive. Finally, in connection with the history lesson in the ordinary school, teachers will find the illustrations clear and helpful, especially if dramatic representations are attempted.

MARY G. HOUSTON.

CONTENTS

LIST OF PLATES

IN COLOUR

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN THE TEXT, OTHER THAN PLANS

LIST OF CUT OUT PATTERNS OR PLANS OF GARMENTS

LIST OF DATED GARMENTS
ILLUSTRATED

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COSTUME

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
OF
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COSTUME

CUTTING OUT

As far as the cutting out of ancient Egyptian costume is concerned, we may divide it broadly into four types—namely: (1) The type of the tunic. (2) The type of the robe. (3) The type of the skirt, with or without cape. (4) The type of the shawl or drapery. The one or two varieties which occur in addition to these may be found in military dress and adaptations from the costumes of other countries. All the varieties above referred to are described in detail in this volume.

DECORATION AND COLOURING

Though we find Egyptian costume in many instances decorated all over with woven or printed patterns, decoration in the main was confined to accessories such as the head-dress, collar, and girdle, these being often painted, embroidered, beaded, or jewelled. See various examples given. The colouring which was usually, though not invariably, confined to the decorations consisted of simple schemes, variations of the hues of red, blue, green, yellow, and deep purple described on p. 66.

MATERIAL

The material used in the costumes was chiefly linen. In the most ancient types it was of a fairly thick, coarse weave; but in the later examples a fine thin linen, loosely woven so as to appear almost transparent, was used. The linen has often a stiffened appearance, and also gives the idea of having been goffered or pleated.

DATES

The earliest types of costume were the tunics; midway come the robes and skirts, and the draped or shawl type of costume appears the latest. However, the older types of costume did not disappear as the new ones were introduced, but all continued to be worn contemporaneously. The dates of most of the costumes in this volume are given with their description, and have been verified at the British Museum.

MEN AND WOMEN: THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR DRESS

It can easily be gathered from the illustrations that the types of costume worn by both sexes were very similar. The high waist-line prevails in feminine dress, while the male costume, if girded, was generally confined about the hips.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COSTUME

Plate I.

Plate I., which dates 700 B.C., is an exact copy of an Egyptian drawing. It will be noticed that the Egyptian method of representing the figure is a peculiar one. A modern representation of the same type of dress is shown in Fig. 2, and the plan of cutting in Fig. 2A It should be noted that this plan—namely, a tunic with braces—is in some instances shown with the braces buttoned on each shoulder at the narrowest part. This illustration is given as a type of Egyptian dress decoration, which would be either printed, painted, or embroidered on the garment. It might be considered that this type of dress more nearly approaches the skirt than the tunic; but reaching, as it does, to the breast-line, and comparing various examples which, as it were, gradually merge into the sleeveless tunic which again merges into the tunic with short sleeves, the present classification will be found to be the most convenient.

Plate II.

Plate II., which dates 1700 B.C. also first century B.C., is an exact copy of an Egyptian drawing of a woman wearing a species of tunic with braces (plan, Fig. 1). The striped decoration upon this tunic is suggested by the lines of another type of Egyptian dress—namely, the drawn-up skirt. The origin of the decoration can be easily understood by a reference to the drapery on Plate IX. In the original of this drawing the figure is represented with a lofty head-dress in addition to the fillet of ribbon and the golden asp here shown, but for the sake of getting the figure on a scale large enough to show clear details the head-dress is omitted. The person represented is said to be Cleopatra dressed as a goddess.