Daughters of Isis - Joyce Tyldesley Read online

  Although it is relatively easy to dye woollen cloth successfully, linen requires a specialized two-stage dyeing process to make the new colour permanent. For a long time it was thought that, despite their obvious skills at the loom, the Egyptians had never developed the technology necessary to dye their linen. The few women who were depicted wearing coloured frocks with bright blue, red and yellow patterning were therefore interpreted either as foreigners or as servant girls dressed in imported foreign clothes. Egyptologists are now beginning to question whether, just as the popularity of woollen garments may have been seriously understated, the availability of dyed cloth has also been underestimated; certainly several dolls with gaily painted dresses have been recovered from working-class graves, indicating that multi-coloured and cheerfully patterned frocks were far more common than has ever been supposed. Whether these were dyed linen dresses or dyed woollen dresses is now not clear. White or off-white always remained the standard colour for all formal clothing, and the garments illustrated in tomb paintings are invariably bright white.

  As colourful garments were something of a rarity the Egyptians developed the art of elaborate folding and pleating to decorate their cloth. This pleating grew finer and even more intricate as the standard of cloth production improved, and was accompanied by a parallel change in fashion from tight-fitting to more free-flowing dresses, designed to show off the expensive material to its best advantage. By the middle of the New Kingdom the style of the pleating was changing so rapidly that statues may now be dated with a considerable degree of accuracy by a consideration of the form of the pleats in the garments. We still have no idea how the ancient clothmakers managed to fix their pleats so firmly into the material that some still survive today, but it has been suggested that the long ribbed and grooved boards which have been recovered from several tombs may have played a part in the process. Some form of starch may have been applied to stiffen the material and hold the pleats in place.

  Enough complete female outer garments have survived to confirm that throughout the Dynastic age the majority of women dressed in rather plain and crudely made variants of the long nightshirt-like djellaba which is still worn by the modern Egyptian peasant.7 These simple clothes lack the style and elegance of the more extreme fashions included in the formal tomb scenes but they would have been easy to make and both practical and comfortable to wear while working. Several of the surviving dresses have sleeves, a refinement which is rarely depicted in paintings before the New Kingdom but which would have provided a welcome protection against the ever-present dust and mosquitoes. Detachable sleeves, designed to be removed in warm weather, were a clever way of making one dress comfortable all year round.

  Sandals – soles of woven reeds or leather bound on to the foot by a thong – were worn throughout the Dynastic period with more elaborate leather slippers becoming fashionable in the 19th Dynasty. The basic sandals often formed a part of the workman’s standard wage, even though artistic representations of daily life suggest that most activities were carried out barefoot as they are in many parts of the world today. Shoes were automatically discarded as a mark of courtesy on entering a house, and were removed in the presence of a socially superior person as a sign of respect. The honorary title of ‘Sandal-bearer to the Pharaoh’ was one of the highest regard, and it is highly unlikely that the holder of such a prestigious position actually had to do much ignominious shoe-carrying.

  Simple shawls, again similar to those in modern use, were thrown over the dresses during the cool Egyptian nights. The 18th Dynasty tomb provisions of the Architect Kha and his wife Merit included not only shawls but also Merit’s elaborately fringed dressing gown, neatly folded in its storage basket which also held her comb and a wig curler. Several ostraca give comparative prices for these garments, and we know that during the New Kingdom the value of one simple djellaba-like shift dress made of plain cloth was, at five deben, relatively expensive; it is difficult to translate this value into exact modern monetary terms, but the fact that a goat was valued at two deben at this time gives an indication of the value attached to cloth. It is clear that clothing was priced according to the quality and quantity of the material used, as a shawl made of good quality cloth was a luxury item valued as high as fifteen deben.

  Not surprisingly, thefts of basic clothing were relatively common. Theoretically these petty crimes could be brought before the court, but it was more usual for the victim to consult the local oracle who could be relied upon to solve the mystery and name the culprit with the minimum of official fuss. The oracle, in the form of a statue of the local god, was placed on a litter which was in turn supported on the shoulders of qualified lay-priests. He or she was able to indicate the answers to direct yes or no questions by forcing the litter-bearers to move either forwards or backwards at the appropriate moment. In more complicated cases, where there was a range of suspects, the plaintiff recited a list of names and the god again moved to indicate the guilty party. Although many local deities provided an efficient oracle service, the deified Amenhotep I at Deir el-Medina was widely recognized to be one of the best.8 One ostracon from this site tells how the draughtsman Kaha decided to consult the oracle when some of his clothing was stolen. Kaha read out a list of the suspect households, and the god twice gave a sign when the household of Scribe Imenhet was mentioned. Eventually the field of suspects was narrowed down even further, and the unnamed daughter of Imenhet was identified as the thief. There is no record of any subsequent punishment being meted out, but it would appear that adverse public opinion combined with a very real fear of divine retribution would force the guilty party to return the stolen goods promptly to their rightful owner.

  His majesty said ‘Indeed, I shall go boating! Bring me twenty oars of gold-plated ebony with handles of sandalwood plated with electrum. Bring me twenty women with the shapeliest bodies, breasts and braids, and who have not yet given birth. Also bring me twenty nets and give the nets to the women in place of their clothes!’ All was done as his majesty commanded. They rowed up and down and his majesty’s heart was happy seeing them row.

  Part of the Middle Kingdom Westcar Papyrus

  Fig. 26 Old Kingdom sheath dress

  The dresses worn by the more up-to-date members of society were also very simple in design, but far less practical for everyday wear. Fashions naturally varied, but the basic garment was always a single length of cloth which was wrapped or draped sarong-style around the body and either tied in place with a belt or held with simple sewn shoulder straps. Such garments become almost unrecognizable when off the body, and examples recovered from tombs have frequently been misclassified as sheets. During the Old Kingdom the stylish woman wore a long, smoothly fitting white sheath extending from her breast to her shin. It was made from a length of linen folded in half, hemmed and stitched into a basic tube shape, and was held in place by two broad shoulder straps. Tomb-scenes suggest that this basic dress was very tight-fitting and worn so as to reveal the form of the body beneath, although it is difficult to take such an impractical garment literally as even the most fashion-conscious girl would have found the need to be sewn into her dress and her subsequent inability to walk somewhat irksome. Presumably this represents yet another artistic convention, designed to stress the femininity of the wearer whose passive role in life is subtly emphasized by her totally impractical clothing. As an alternative to the stark white garment, decorated shoulder straps and horizontal panels of geometric patterning could either be woven or embroidered on to the dress. Tabards of beaded or pearl network worn over the plain dress gave an exciting patterned effect, and the Westcar Papyrus quoted above records jaded King Sneferu’s lecherous delight in watching his crew of nubile female rowers wearing the ‘fishing net’ beaded dresses without the customary modesty garment.

  Fig. 27 New Kingdom fashion

  This rather understated Old Kingdom elegance eventually gave way to a more elaborate style of attire, and the New Kingdom lady was able to select her dress from a much wi
der and less conservative wardrobe, with highly pleated and fringed garments providing suitable accompaniments to the more elaborate wig-styles also in vogue at this time. The standard garment was a flowing sari-like dress made from one long length of pleated cloth which was draped around the body and shoulders and tied under the bust to give an Empire-line silhouette. Finely pleated sleeves covered the upper arms to the elbow. The old-fashioned sheath dress continued to be popular, but was now covered by a shorter and more diaphanous flowing robe.

  With her hair she throws lassoes at me,

  And with her eyes she catches me,

  With her necklace she entangles me,

  And brands me with her seal ring.

  New Kingdom love poem

  The plain white garments provided the perfect background for the colourful and varied jewellery which was popular with men, women and children of all classes from Predynastic times onwards. Vividly coloured mass-produced beads were used in the manufacture of cheap and cheerfully eye-catching costume jewellery while, at the other end of the financial scale, valuable metals and semi-precious stones were transformed by master-craftsmen into exquisite designer pieces which are true works of art. The jewellery worn by the royal family was exclusively produced by the workshops attached to the king’s palace which, with all the resources of the royal court at their disposal, were able to develop advanced and intricate techniques such as cloisonné, granulation and filigree work. The less wealthy purchased their simple trinkets from local craftsmen or the itinerant jewellers who could always be found at the village market. Generally, whatever the standard of workmanship, the materials used in the jewellery were opaque. In contrast to our modern jewellery, it was the colour and brightness of the whole rather than the purity of individual components which created the desired dramatic effect.

  The Egyptian craftsmen did not have access to the precious stones which play a major role in our modern jewellery. However, amethyst, carnelian and jasper could all be found within Egypt’s boundaries, while turquoise was mined in the Sinai desert and deep blue lapis-lazuli was imported from as far away as Afghanistan. Gold occurs naturally in the Egyptian desert both as pure seams running through quartz rock and as alluvial deposits which need to be panned; both these sources were exploited throughout the Dynastic period. Pure silver, however, was always imported from elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Silver does occur as an impurity in the native Egyptian gold, but it is very difficult to separate the two metals.9 Silver was consequently more highly prized than gold, and is less frequently encountered in jewellery. Neither metal would have been easy for ordinary members of the public to obtain, and it is obvious that there was a thriving black-market trade in illicit gold excavated from the richly-endowed royal burials by enterprising tomb robbers.

  The Egyptians loved to display their finery during life, and confidently expected to continue displaying it after death. They regarded it as essential that they should be interred with suitably impressive jewellery, appropriate to both their sex and their status in society. Consequently, much of the Egyptian jewellery now housed in museums throughout the world comes from funerary contexts, often looted by modern tomb robbers or amateur egyptologists who gave little thought to the archaeological importance of their booty. Some of these pieces were obviously well-loved and well-worn by their owners, but much of the remaining jewellery was specifically manufactured for the grave. Several of these pieces are made out of tissue-thin metal and could not have been worn without tearing, while several of the broad collars are lacking the counterpoise weight necessary to allow the collar to lie correctly. In the Afterlife this symbolic jewellery would be made functional and would be worn by the deceased. There is no indication that this funerary jewellery was anything other than an imitation of the jewellery that was being worn on a daily basis by living Egyptians, and specific types of death-jewellery only suitable for wearing in the Afterlife are unknown, although there were specific protective amulets designed to be included in mummy wrappings.

  We broke open the tombs to the West of the No and brought away the inner coffins which were in them. We stripped off the gold and the silver which was on them and stole it, and I divided it between myself and my confederates.

  New Kingdom trial transcript

  Theft from the royal tombs, often by the very workmen who had been employed in their construction, was a constant headache as it was impossible to keep the location of such major building works secret for any length of time. At Thebes, the site of the New Kingdom royal tombs, a special necropolis police force was responsible for guarding the royal tombs, reporting directly to the vizier, the pharaoh’s second-in-command. However, several 20th Dynasty papyri which deal with the arrest and subsequent trial of gangs of tomb robbers and the fences who received the stolen property indicate that this police force was perhaps not as efficient as it might have been; indeed, some of the necropolis officials were clearly implicated in the crimes. Any observed irregularities in the necropolis were reported directly to either the vizier or the other high-ranking administrators. A commission was then established to investigate the violated tombs, draw up a list of suspects and conduct a trial. Those found guilty were referred to the pharaoh for punishment; the official penalty for tomb robbery was a nasty lingering death by impalement on a stake.

  In the western world we regard our jewellery as primarily decorative, a means of expressing our individuality and perhaps displaying our financial worth. There are, of course, certain exceptions to this rule. Pieces such as a crucifix, a St Christopher medal or a horseshoe charm may be worn for both ornamental and religious or superstitious reasons, while a wedding band or engagement ring is expected to function as a decorative indication of social status. The Egyptians, who felt themselves to be constantly under siege from evil spirits, demons and all the hazards of their harsh natural world, expected their jewellery to combine an ornamental function with the important practical role of warding off evil, attributing an amuletic effect to almost all their pieces. The prophylactic features of certain motifs are not always clear to us today, but as with many aspects of Dynastic life it seems safe to state that no piece of Egyptian jewellery should be taken at its face value. To be fully effective all these charms had to be kept close to the skin; they were usually worn suspended on a thong tied around the neck.

  The hidden amuletic effect of some pieces has been passed down to us, and we can tell that many charms were particularly appropriate to women. For example, the head of Bat, a fertility goddess who could help the childless to conceive, is shown on some of the earliest recovered amulets which date from the dawn of the Dynastic age. Fish ornaments, worn in the hair or suspended around the neck, were believed to protect young girls against drowning, while oyster shell amulets were believed to bring general good health to all women. The Udjat Eye of Horus, representing the eye that was knocked out by the evil Seth, became a symbol of light which would ward off evil; as such it was a popular amulet with both men and women. Less obvious now are the protective powers attributed to certain colours – notably green which signified life and birth – and certain types of stone. The wearer of a green turquoise necklace would probably have felt herself to be adequately protected against all harm.

  The most popular and least expensive jewellery consisted of simple beads, shells and charms threaded on to linen or leather cords. These beads, usually made from glazed steatite, faience or glass, came in many different shapes and colours ready to be made into necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. Some beads were highly sophisticated; the beaded girdles which were worn for purely ornamental purposes by dancing girls often included cowrie beads designed to rattle in an enticing manner as the dance progressed. It may well be that these cowrie shells, which bear a passing resemblance to female genitalia, were intended to be symbolic of fertility. Such rattling girdles were by no means confined to those who needed to display their physical charms, and they have been recovered from the tombs of elegant and presumably highly respectable royal prin
cesses. While most people had to be content with simple bead pendants and necklaces, elaborate broad collars made from several interlinked strands of faience beads passing through broad terminals were worn by the middle and upper classes, ranging from low-ranking officials to the Royal Family. The pectoral, a wide pendant of inlaid precious metal worn across the chest, was also confined to the more wealthy members of society, and was usually, but not always, worn by women.

  Bracelets, bangles and anklets were popular ornaments for women of all classes from the Predynastic period onwards, with one of the most prominent early bracelet-wearers being Queen Hetepheres, the mother of the 4th Dynasty pyramid-builder King Cheops. Hetepheres’ portrait shows her arms loaded down with jewellery, and she was buried with a box containing twenty inlaid silver bracelets intended for wear during the Afterlife. Anklets are notoriously difficult to differentiate from bracelets unless they are recovered still encircling the limb of a dead body, and even the Egyptians found it necessary to add the words ‘for the feet’ when labelling boxes of foot jewellery. It would appear that many archaeologists, perhaps unused to the idea of anklets, have also been confused by the similarity of these pieces, as items recovered from disturbed graves have frequently been misclassified. Anklets were originally exclusively female ornaments, but by the Middle Kingdom were being worn by both men and women of all classes. The most chic coordinated look was achieved by those who sported a wide decorated bracelet and a slightly thicker matching anklet.