Most Egyptians wear clothes made of linen. This kind of fabric is light and breathable, and it can move freely when worn, which is extremely important in hot (and quite humid in some areas) Egypt. Other fabrics are wool and cotton. Wool can keep warm, but the fly in the ointment is that it has a layer of moisture-proof natural oil on its surface, so the ancient Egyptians once thought wool was unclean. Cotton breathes air, but it is not as light as flax.
Flax is a kind of plant fiber fabric, which comes from the plant flax growing along the Nile River. Flax is suitable for drying, carding, soaking and hammering to make the surface smooth, then spinning into thread, then weaving into hemp, cutting and sewing into clothes.
Clothing tools include knives (or scissors) and needles, both of which need to be shaped, polished or carved. Stone knives and bone needles were used in the former dynasty, but in the old kingdom, they were all changed to red copper. Then in the Middle Kingdom, bronze replaced copper. Knife and needle have been fixed and shaped. Surprisingly, there were no needle holes at that time. Knives and needles are scraped with "hard tools with sharp tips, maybe stones" The ancient Egyptians used these tools and linen to make clothes suitable for climatic conditions to meet the needs of people of different social status.
Textile and dyeing
The origin of weaving and dyeing technology has been lost in ancient times. However, the mummy shroud of various grades and sizes preserved in many museums can still prove the weaving and dyeing technology level of ancient Egypt. Royal purple may appear in 1600 BC. Murals in tombs, temples and other buildings that have survived climate change, as well as pottery with decorative surfaces, can often tell us a lot when applied to the above-mentioned colored raw materials through chemical analysis.
So in 19 13, the Metropolitan Museum of New York donated the pigments unearthed from Peneb's tomb (built in 2650 BC). Maximilian Toki does research. He found that red pigments are iron oxide and hematite, yellow is clay containing iron or ochre, blue is fine powder glass, light blue is copper carbonate, maybe azurite, green is malachite, black is charcoal or bone carbon, and gray is limestone mixed with charcoal. Some of the colors left on the painted pots for decoration are hematite mixtures containing limestone and clay.
ready-to-wear clothes
Egypt's hot summer and mild winter make Egyptians prefer light fabrics made of plant fibers, mainly flax. In Roman times, cotton imported from India was occasionally used. There is also wool, but as far as the Egyptians themselves are concerned, it is rarely used.
Perhaps the Egyptians will buy back a small amount of silk from the eastern Mediterranean, about in the second half of the second millennium BC. Traces of silk were found in Egyptian tombs.
Almost all animal skins are leopard skins. Priests sometimes wear them, and when Pharaoh was God's first waiter, he also wore animal skins. Such clothes have been found in Tutankhamun's tomb, and animal skin clothes are often depicted on the walls of the tomb. Some kings and queens also wear dresses decorated with feathers and round sequins.
Knitting is a woman's job. Most of them are held at home, but there are also workshops run by nobles or rich people. Flax is converted into fiber after beating and carding, which can be used for spinning.
At first, the plane loom was used to weave cloth. The loom was fixed to the ground with nails, and the workers squatted and worked. Later, during the New Kingdom, a vertical loom was used.
skirt
The linen robe worn by the ancient Egyptians, with its hem hanging down to the legs, is called "Kalasiris" and covered with a loose white wool cloak.
Clothes are usually made of linen, and the style is very simple: a short waist cloth, much like a pleated skirt worn by men, and a skirt with shoulder straps worn by women. This basic style will change slightly according to different status and wealth, but it has not changed fundamentally in the whole history of Egypt. There are several kinds of pleated skirts, which are shorter in the ancient kingdom and longer in the middle kingdom, with lower legs, and are often worn with sleeveless shirts or robes. Wear it around the waist, sometimes pleated or fixed with a belt.
Many styles of clothes were unearthed in Tutankhamun's tomb: short robes, shirts, pleated skirts, belts, socks, headdresses, hats, square towels, protective gloves and gloves. Some gloves are lined with fine linen, while others are divided into index finger and middle finger according to the style, and there are openings for thumb to extend. Underwear is a triangle waist cloth.
The robes worn by Egyptian men and women were called "Kalasiris" by Herodotus. For centuries, the materials and tailoring have been very different.
Kalasiris has one shoulder or two shoulders, and also has a shoulder strap. It can be any length, from the neck to the chest, usually to the ankle, and the hem of the robe is inlaid with ornaments. Some people wear short sleeves, while others wear sleeveless ones. The size is tight, or a little loose. They also often wear a belt to wrinkle their clothes.
Sewing such a robe requires a rectangular piece of cloth, which is twice as long as the desired robe. Cut an opening in the center of the cloth so that it can be inserted from the head, then fold the cloth in half and sew the two sides together, but leave a certain opening for the arm.
The skirt is decorated with beads, and the fabric used is sometimes pleated. In most cases, the style of the skirt covers the chest, but there are exceptions. There were several periods when topless breasts were popular.
The collared cloak can be traced back to the ancient kingdom. It is usually made of linen, and it is also open in the center to fit around the neck. Cloaks are usually colored, painted with patterns or decorated in other ways. This cloak rarely exceeds the shoulders. During the New Kingdom, people sometimes wore shawls.
Most servants or female slaves wear tight underwear that is not enough to cover their bodies, but most professional women wear short kalasiris. Men who do manual labor will wear waist cloth (pictured above) or loose robes like Galabiyeh (a kind of clothing in the Middle East). If they work in water, they will wear nothing.
Children are always naked in summer and wear robes and cloaks in winter.
In most cases, ordinary Egyptians don't wear any headgear, and people with better conditions wear wigs-probably only on special occasions. Wigs in the New Kingdom period formed a unique style.
Whether it is statues, paintings, reliefs or other forms of expression, Pharaoh is always portrayed as wearing a crown, but it is still uncertain whether Pharaoh really wears a crown in his daily life or an established practice in artistic expression.
wash clothes
Washing clothes is a heavy job. The lye used for washing is made of castor oil and saltpeter. Laundry is done by two workers, and the procedures include beating, washing and twisting. By BC 1200, there were large metal barrels (used to cook clothes) in the laundry room, which could reduce the workload of laundry workers.
shoe
Residents along the Mediterranean coast hardly need to wear exquisite shoes. The only exception is the Hittites who live in Anatolia highlands. They wear lace-up shoes. (Although in Egyptian reliefs, Hittites are depicted as barefoot people).
Ancient Egyptians were generally barefoot, but in some special occasions, or when barefoot might be injured (for example, when catching birds, it is necessary to prevent stubble from piercing the soles of the feet), they would wear sandals. Sandals are equipped with two narrow belts, made of leather or rush, and usually have leather soles and shoelaces.
Kings sometimes wear very beautiful sandals, just as they sometimes wear decorative gloves, but on the whole, they are all portrayed as barefoot, like gods. Gold sandals have been unearthed, but they are uncomfortable to wear. There are 93 pairs of shoes in Tutankhamun's tomb. Among them, there are wooden sandals, and the upper depicts the scene of the king capturing the enemy: every step the king takes, he will step on an enemy.
In the early days of the Middle Kingdom, there were almost only sandals of this style-straps with toes, which were connected at the heels. The upper is not used to fix the foot in the shoe, but only to cover the foot. During the new kingdom, some Egyptians occasionally put on real shoes (instead of sandals), which is reflected in the portrait of Queen Natmos of Karnak Temple. This may be due to the influence of Hittites, and it was at that time that Egyptians began to contact Hittites.
Sandals made of rushes are quite strong and beautiful, and leather soles are often used. Sandals, which are neglected at present, may symbolize one's wealth and status in ancient Egypt.
Sixteen, clothing
For the ancient Egyptians, tradition was everything-life and religion seemed to stagnate, which was very obvious in the costumes at that time. It was not until Alexander took control of Egypt in 332 BC that the daily clothes of Egyptians began to change slowly. However, in celebrations and religious ceremonies, they still retain the ancient clothing style.
For centuries, Egyptian culture has been the source of inspiration for other nationalities in art and architecture, but its creation in clothing has been basically forgotten. This may be influenced by Hollywood movies. In Hollywood blockbusters with the theme of Egypt, Egyptian costumes left a more or less artificial impression. When many people think of ancient Egyptian clothes, they will immediately think of the dazzling and finely crafted clothes in large movies.
In fact, ancient Egyptian costumes are unpretentious, but the facts are covered up by all kinds of costumes in the luxurious scenes in epic movies. The style of ancient Egyptian clothing has hardly changed. Women's clothing is characterized by a high waistline, while men's clothing emphasizes the buttocks. Even if new clothes and styles are introduced, people wear the old and the new together.
At first, most clothes were simple in style and roughly triangular. Because the climate is extremely hot, the clothes here often have the following three characteristics: spacious, light and cloth-saving. No nudity. Except children, slaves and civilians, anyone who is naked in public will be considered low and immoral.
Both men and women can be topless, although women have more cover than men. The proportion of lines on their clothes is similar, but the emphasis is slightly different. Women's clothes are more binding than men's. The clothes worn by women are corsets, while the pleated skirts worn by men can make the wearer move more freely, which probably indicates that men have a more mobile lifestyle.
Clothing reflects the hierarchical nature of ancient Egyptian society and highlights different social classes. However, it is not the style of clothes that determines a person's social status, but the fabric of clothes. Therefore, the higher a person's social status, the better the cloth of his clothes: Pharaoh's clothes are often made of soft linen and may be decorated with gold thread. At the other end of the hierarchy, the standard waist cloth worn by civilians is made of plant fiber or leather. The weaving of cloth changes with the change of social class.
women's clothes
Until the middle of18th century, ordinary women still wore robes and silk dresses. This tight dress is simple in shape, hanging from the bottom of the breast to the ankle, and it is lifted by two shoulder straps. The robes discovered by archaeologists are cylindrical and sewn on one side of the clothes. This kind of clothes may not fit like paintings and statues show, and they must be somewhat different from each other in shape. According to the murals, some of the clothes will extend upward, covering the chest and even reaching the neck. Some of the surviving clothes were hung by sleeves, not suspenders. Women often wear a thin scarf on their robes to keep out the sun during the day and keep out the cold at night.
The other set consists of two parts. Wear a tight short corset, which can be taken off before and after. The sleeves are narrow and connected to the body with a string. Bra with a wide skirt, the skirt pleats are horizontal.
The wives of pharaohs and nobles wore pleated clothes made of bleached linen, which were folded by hand and then starched. These clothes must be taken care of carefully, which will take servants several hours to harden them.
In the18th century, new clothes became popular, which was probably related to the great changes in religious beliefs during this period. From the portraits of Okhennatan's wife Nefertiti and her six daughters, we can see that they are dressed in long and elegant linen pleated dresses, and the sleeves of pleated robes are wide and hang down to the elbows, while they are wearing long tights. There is a belt on the chest and a necklace decorated with jewels on the neckline.
men's clothing/clothes/garments
The traditional men's wear is a shirt. This is a simple pleated skirt, wrapped around the waist, hung in front of the body, and folded at both ends. At first, shirts were made of leather or cowhide. Later, shirts were made of a very light cloth, usually linen. A lion's tail sometimes hangs from the back of the pleated skirt worn by Pharaoh, while the pleated skirt worn by soldiers is striped or made of colored cloth.
With the passage of time, the pleated skirt has been cut more and more angular and has been starched, so that the pleated skirt can stand out and form a triangle at the front of the body. For men, most of their clothes emphasize the front of the body, with emphasis on the genitals, because it has a supreme position in reproduction, and people regard it as a sacred object, and often pleat cloth on the genitals to attract others' attention.
Men's wear is slowly changing, and one of the innovations after shirts is the waist skirt. On the famous "palette" unearthed in Namir, King menes wore such a skirt. The upper end of the skirt extends upward until it passes through the left shoulder. This painting dates back to 2900 BC.
During the Middle Kingdom period (2040 ~ 65438 BC+0640 BC), men wore long skirts over pleated skirts. Long skirts are made of a square piece of linen and vary in length, some reaching the middle of thighs and some reaching the calves. They are sometimes fixed with decorative tapes.
After Egypt conquered Syria in BC15th century, it introduced two kinds of clothing-short robe and long robe. At that time, a large number of foreign weavers came to settle in Egypt. At that time, there were so many such immigrants that the word "Syrian" became synonymous with weavers. Therefore, advanced textile technology has entered Egypt, making it possible to produce textiles with better texture. Short robe and short sleeve evening dress (similar to pajamas? In the same way, you can also wear it outside your shirt. The robe has a complicated structure and is made of a piece of cloth. The length of the cloth must be twice the height of the wearer. Because it is wider, the sleeves are fatter, and the skirt is tied around the waist, so the neckline is wider. Robe is the most unusual clothing style for Egyptians.
In addition, there is a kind of clothing. This kind of dress is made of a piece of cloth with pleats on the shoulders and fixed with a fibula (a pin like a brooch).
Cloth and color
In ancient Egypt, flax was the most common clothing fabric. Compared with other materials, it has several advantages: its fibers can be woven into fine and light fabrics, which are neither ripe nor heavy, and can simply form wrinkles on the body. It's also easy to wash. At first, this kind of cloth was made of various plant fibers-a technology invented by the Egyptians, but with the general improvement of national irrigation technology, flax became the most common raw material. After Syrian weavers came to Egypt, their exquisite textile technology made it easier to make cloth and the texture was better. Household items, such as baskets and sieves, are also woven from plant fibers.
Although linen is the most common cloth, it is not the only cloth: people weave reeds and make clothes for slaves; Papyrus is made into short and tight clothes like aprons. In addition to linen, cotton is also made into various clothes, such as short robes and robes, and gold thread can be embroidered on the clothes. Wool is used to make scarves and coats. Leather is used in military uniforms, such as soldiers' armor. Around 323 BC, the Greeks and Romans introduced silk, and the Egyptians began to understand silk. You can't wear clothes made of wool and leather in temples, because Egyptians think it is blasphemous to wear clothes made of animal fur to worship God.
The color is symbolic. Green symbolizes youth and life, and yellow represents gold, which is the skin of the eternal god. Black rarely appears on Egyptian clothes-it is the special color of wigs. White symbolizes happiness, and white clothes are common in Egyptian wardrobes. Of course, there are practical reasons, that is, it is difficult to color linen according to the technology at that time, so clothes are generally made of natural and bleached linen. Subsequently, natural local ingredients gradually developed in Egypt. Although this technology is difficult to master, Egyptians began to try to dye fabrics. For example, slaves often wear blue clothes. The red dye is extracted from crocus sativus; Silk thread is dyed golden and then used to weave royal robes and gloves; Leather is also dyed red, yellow and green.
Jewelry and decorations
The Egyptian expedition brought back many tributes and treasures. Despite this, Egyptian clothing itself is still almost unadorned, and sometimes it is almost worn out.
However, sculptures and murals at that time showed that both men and women were wearing jewelry. Jewelry and accessories should be regarded as part of clothing. Egyptians used jewelry to show the amount of wealth and used it to add color to wardrobes.
Since the pre-dynasty era, people have worn necklaces and other items. Necklaces, armbands, bracelets and anklets are made of gold, coral, pearls, agate and chalcedony. At that time, silver was rarely used in jewelry, and silver was called "white metal". The ancient Egyptians believed that the bones of God were made of silver. Silver is usually used for decoration and embellishment. Egyptians made it into thin slices and used it as decorations for statues, furniture and some gadgets.
Necklaces are made of shells, beads, flowers and precious stones set in gold. It can be worn as a necklace or connected to a collar made of leather or cloth (this style originated in ancient times). During the 18 dynasty, a new design was introduced, which consisted of 2~4 rows of metal sheets. This seems to prove from the side that there were more metals available at that time. The beaded bracelets seen on the murals of that period came from-or the creativity came from the models in the Near East. Pendants and earrings are usually big and must be heavy to wear.
Members of the royal family have a great appetite for gold jewelry, and since ancient times, a large number of jewels buried with them have attracted grave robbers, so it is rare to find these jewels intact. But in 1834, an Italian explorer named Jude Seper Ferini discovered a whole set of jewels. He found a pyramid belonging to Queen Armani Shahtu in a place called Miroi. Scientific research on these items reveals how their owners wear them. For example, Queen Armani Shahto wore a set of bracelets consisting of 10 on her hands. On her grave, there are nine shield rings. These rings are ordinary rings, but instead of wearing them on her fingers, she tied them to her hair and let them hang down from her forehead.
Other decorations are endowed with religious or political significance. Pharaoh's ornaments are symbolic, and their bending and flail represent their power over territory, shepherds and farmers. Isis Sacred Knot is a sacred symbol of life, and usually only kings, queens and gods have the right to own it. Its origin is uncertain, but it is said that it symbolizes the shoelaces on casual shoes. Cobra is the exclusive symbol of the Egyptian monarch. It was decorated on the crown and the eagle's headscarf. "Eye of Horus" is a very common lucky eye.
Flowers are also commonly used decorations. People cut flowers into necklaces and wear them at funerals or festivals. Egyptians like flowers, not only because they are beautiful, but also because they contain various symbolic meanings. Lotus has always been a symbol of Egypt. Legend has it that a big lotus grew in ancient water. On the first morning after the world began, this lotus was the cradle of the sun.
shoe
Sandals are the oldest shoes known, and people think that they are the best way to prevent your feet from being burned by hot sand in the desert, while keeping them ventilated and cool. The most basic shape of Egyptian sandals is like a belt, which consists of two suspenders and an upper. A sling passes between the big toe and the second toe, and then connects with another sling that crosses the arch of the foot.
Both men and women wear sandals made of wood, papyrus, goatskin and palm fiber. Shoes are considered to be the most valuable things in the Egyptian wardrobe. They are worn indoors. When traveling, people take shoes with them and only wear them when they arrive at their destination.