Clothes of Ancient Egypt. Clothes of Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt is considered one of the oldest civilizations. It had its own cultural values, political system, world view, religion. A separate trend was the fashion of Ancient Egypt. It should be noted that the evolution of this civilization has not yet been fully explored and is still of particular interest to many scientists. Fashion of Ancient Egypt is a subject of study of modern designers and designers. What is the reason for this interest? We will go further.

General information

What is so attractive today clothes of ancient Egypt? Discussion is mainly conducted around the exact and elegant cut, as well as the original finish. All elements were thought through to the smallest detail. Clothing of Ancient Egypt (women's, men's, clothes of pharaohs and ordinary people) was comfortable, there was nothing superfluous in it. But with this, the impression of a completely completed image was created.

Clothing of Ancient Egypt: basic characteristics

The outfits of past cultures are distinguished by their unchangeability, monotony and constancy. But even in those distant times you can see the technical improvement of the elements, the accuracy of the pattern calculation, the elegance in the processing of fabrics. Clothes and hairdos of Ancient Egypt were thought through in the most detailed manner. Despite the fact that the costume is contrast, it is very expressive, harmonious. The clothing of Ancient Egypt made the figure of a man geometrically stylized. This is evident from the surviving sculptures and drawings. In this stylization, the intentions of fashion were very clearly manifested. In some cases, even sharper than it really was. Sculptors and artists of Egypt studied the art of stylization in special palace schools. All of them were at the temples. The art of stylization was prescribed by the existing canons, exact norms and established traditions that were never violated. This accuracy and clarity concerned both the hairstyles and clothing of the Egyptians. It should be said that the outfits of this civilization remained unchanged for a long period: in the fourth millennium they were the same as in the second. Actually, we are talking about two types of clothing: male and female. By its decoration it was possible to judge the person's belonging to a certain social class.

Perfection of outfits

Its history of ancient Egyptian clothing takes from men's loincloth triangular bandages with an apron. They were called "senti". These dressings were decorated with numerous draperies. With the passage of time, this clothing of Ancient Egypt was perfected. Draperies became more complicated, they began to be fastened on the waist with a belt that was decorated with gold threads and ornaments. It should be assumed that such a decoration testified to the rather high social position of the owner. The clothing of Ancient Egypt was further developed. Subsequently, the shenti began to be worn as underwear. On top of him they wore a transparent cloak, similar in silhouette to a trapeze, and tied with a belt. In addition to the along there were pleating, decorations and headgear.

Contrasts

It was with the men's simple loincloth that the Egyptian outfit began to take shape. The body was naked. Initially, the bandage played the role of "apron" and was considered working clothes. But the clothes of the grandee in Ancient Egypt began to take shape. In a person who held a higher status in society, the bandage was carefully collected in folds, decorated with belts. The front of the element extended to the bottom in the form of a triangle. It was also decorated with geometric patterns. In sculpture and painting, it can be noted how the white bandage and the brownish-red color of the skin clearly contrast. This shade was clearly defined. The skin color of women and slaves was portrayed differently. He was yellow.

Women's clothing

The dress was exceptionally functional. What clothes were worn in ancient Egypt, the fairer sex? The dress was sewn from a thin fabric. It looked like a tight-fitting case. Subsequently, this dress was called kalasins. The fabric accurately depicted the figure, in connection with which there is a suggestion that this clothing of Ancient Egypt was knitted. Later the dress was divided into a vest and a skirt. Last in its length reached the middle of the roe. On the skirt was a high belt that emphasized the figure of a woman. The ideal was a tall, slender brunette with broad shoulders and a thin waist. Tightly fitting skirt skirt did not allow to make wide steps. This means that the gait was clearly regulated. The elements of the waistcoat were two wide straps. As a rule, they were tied on the shoulders. At the same time, the breasts remained naked. However, it was not exhibited, as, for example, in the later Cretan fashion. Naturalism was restrained and eluded attention at the first moment. A naturalistic detail, together with a strict stylization of the figure, will meet repeatedly in the future. This combination with time will become very popular. The more clothes are stylized, the more emphasized is the naturalistic detail. The ideal of beauty was the queen Cleopatra. She possessed all the qualities a woman should have: regular facial features, almond-shaped eyes, dark skin, strong character and an extraordinary mind. Queen Cleopatra had an excellent sense of style. This manifested itself in everything, including clothing.

Features of the outfits

It should be said more about naturalism and stylization of costumes. In comparison with the late analogies, for example, the Spanish fashion of the period of Mannerism, the trends of rococo and Gothic, it seems that Egyptian clothing is the embodiment of some final stage of the long development of the costume culture. There is an assumption that the outfits have become in some way the highest stage of the previous non-preserved neolithic tendencies. Here you should pay attention to the elegant details of the costumes. Clothing, both female and male, is based on the contrasts of material and color. On the smooth soft fabric or naked body, relief strips of colored faience beads, usually green or blue, are highlighted. They formed a kind of collar and complemented women's or men's clothing. Colorful decorations, as a rule, contrasted with a white cloth, columned figures - with black thick hair or wigs, which geometrically framed the face. The makeup was imposed by men and women. In accordance with the existing tradition, lips, eyebrows and eyes were tinted. In the time of the New Reign, the clothes of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt were even more stylized, luxurious. The outfits differed in the variety of colors.

Further development

Put only to women klasirisis later began to wear and men. New elements of the outfit began to appear. One of them was the upper cloak. He was a kind of shawl, gently gathered in folds from above the waistcoat and crossed on the chest. As a result, short sleeves were formed. In the new clothes you can again see a stylized triangle. It can be traced in the form of sleeves and in a skirt, the front part of which looked like a bell. But now it's not so much a geometric figure, but a more stylized lotus. The clothing of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt has always been supplemented with ornaments. Among the crafts in those days was popular engraving and chasing. The Egyptians skillfully treated precious stones and their analogues. It was from this civilization that various decorations went: tiaras, bracelets, earrings, brooches, rings and so on.

Jewelry Art

Ornaments were an integral part of the outfit of the people of the upper classes. Clothing grandees in ancient Egypt was luxurious. It should be noted that no one was able to surpass the jewelry art of this people both in artistic expression and in technical execution. Egyptian fashion, jewelry, as, indeed, all of art in general, almost always attracted its mystery. In the modern world, they literally survived the revival. This was influenced by the discovery in 1920 of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Fabrics

Despite the fact that since ancient times sheep breeding was widespread in the Nile Valley, the wool was considered "unclean" in a ritual sense. When making clothes, only linen cloths were used. The skill of spinners of that time does not cease to amaze the imagination of modern historians. Some samples of canvases have survived, in which for 1 square. Cm, there were 60 threads of duck and 84 bases, and 240 meters of such yarn weighed nothing at all. Practically transparent lightest fabrics that Egyptian spinners made were compared with "woven air" or "baby breathing". They valued very highly. The canvases were painted in different colors, but mostly in green, red and blue. From the beginning of the New Kingdom began to appear and other shades: brown and yellow. Cloths did not paint black. Blue was considered a mourning. However, the most common and beloved among representatives of all classes of society was white fabric. The canvases could be either patterned or monophonic. The favorite patterns were feathers. They were the symbol of the goddess Isis. The patterns were also popular in the form of lotus flowers. The drawings were applied to the fabric by embroidery or a special staining method using different mordants.