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Egyptian Textiles
"She who was rich in fine linen, who loved clothes, lies in the cast-off garment of yesterday." So ends an ancient Egyptian funeral lament, and indeed these textiles have frequently become the neglected cast-off rags of today, lying undiscovered in museum basements. This book attempts to rectify the situation by assessing the archaeological importance of textiles...
- GenresEgyptology
72 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2015
This is only a small book, but even now its virtually the only book published on the subject of ancient Egyptian textiles and fashion. The ancient Egyptians loved their dress and and had a real sense of fashion. They also had the skill to weave very fine linen and wool textiles for daily use for a variety of uses such as daily and ceremonial dress to bed coverings and sanitary pads for women.
This book makes it clear that the beautiful dresses and kilts we see depicted in tomb paintings are misleading in regards to what people actually wore. You don't often see women in straight dresses with long sleeves and fine sewn pleating in tomb paintings yet these are the type of real dresses found in some tombs. Its unfortunate that even the extensive wardrobe found in Tutankhamen's tomb has yet to be really fully studied, and the textiles that have been looked at have since deteriorated badly with changed colours from when they were originally found.
This is an interesting and eye opening little book for anyone who has ever had an interest on what the ancient Egyptian's really wore. It also makes it clear how much research still needs to be done in this area.
This book makes it clear that the beautiful dresses and kilts we see depicted in tomb paintings are misleading in regards to what people actually wore. You don't often see women in straight dresses with long sleeves and fine sewn pleating in tomb paintings yet these are the type of real dresses found in some tombs. Its unfortunate that even the extensive wardrobe found in Tutankhamen's tomb has yet to be really fully studied, and the textiles that have been looked at have since deteriorated badly with changed colours from when they were originally found.
This is an interesting and eye opening little book for anyone who has ever had an interest on what the ancient Egyptian's really wore. It also makes it clear how much research still needs to be done in this area.
May 6, 2018
I'm not that familiar with textiles but after seeing the King Tut exhibit recently which included some clothing items, I restarted (and finished) this book today. Honestly, I could not fully follow all of the sewing terms and descriptions, however that did not dampen my awe of how much textiles could tell us about the customs and daily lives of the ancient Egyptians. While I wish there had been some color illustrations, I was appreciative of the photos and drawings that were included with the text.
I will have to look for a more up-to-date book on the subject as this book was published in 1986. I imagine there have been many discoveries and advancements since then.
I will have to look for a more up-to-date book on the subject as this book was published in 1986. I imagine there have been many discoveries and advancements since then.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews