— ^ "- COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Research Library, The Getty Research Institute http://www.archive.org/details/costumeofancient01hope COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS BY THOMAS HOPE. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : PRINTED FOR WILLIAM MILLER, ALBEMARLE-STREET, BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND-ROW, ST. JAMES'S. 1809. THE GETTY CENTER LIST OF THE PLATES. VOLUME I. No. 1. Phrygian lady. 2. Theseus. — Hyppolita. — Deinomache. 3. Phrygian attired for religious rites. 4. Sarmatian. — Vesta. — Paris. 5. Phrygian helmets, bow, bipennis, quiver, tunic, axe, and javelin. 6. Asiatic monarch. 7. Atys. 8. Phrygian with his coat of mail. 9. Amazon fighting. 10. Amazon clothed in leopard's skin. 11. Dacian king. 12. Heads of Amazon. — Paris. — Trojan. —Roma.— Phrygian. 13. Phrygian shields, quivers, and bipennes or battle axes. 14. Dacian helmets. — Phrygian helmets. — Dacian standard. — Phry- gian shoes. 15. Dacian king. 16. Parthian with his bow and javelin. 17. Heads of Parthian and Persian kings. 18. Dacian warrior on horseback. 19- Amazon. — Dacian king. — Paris. 20. Syrian, and Parthian monarchs. 21. Minerva — Juno. — Jupiter. 22. Allegorical figures in the old Greek style of attire. 23. Nymph in the old style of attire. 24. Minerva — Bearded, or Indian Bacchus. — Juno. b VI LIST OF THE PLATES. No. 25. Priestess. 26. Neptune. 27. Procession of priestess and her attendants. 28. Grecian ladies in dresses of the old style. — Tympanum, or metal drum. 29. Grecian females. 30. Grecian female. 31. Grecian priestesses performing offerings and libations. 32. Grecian female. 33. Grecian female clasping her garment. 34. Grecian female. 35. Grecian lady. 36. Greek warrior skulking behind his shield. 37. Greek warrior. 38. Greek warrior. 39. Greek herald. 40. Greek warrior. 41. Greek warrior in his travelling dress. 42. Grecian ladies. 43. Greek warrior with the visor of his helmet over his face. 44. Minerva. 45. Various helmets with fixed or moveable visors. 46. Theban shield and bow cases. 47. Grecian female. 48. Grecian victor in the chariot race. 49- Greek car, or chariot, used in the games. 50. Grecian warrior in his travelling dress, with his petasus, or hat, thrown over his shoulders. 51. Squire, or attendant on a Greek warrior. 52. Greek combatants separated by a herald. 53. Greek shield, viewed inside ; helmet, greaves, sword, bow, quiver, and two heralds staffs, or sceptres. 54. Greek warrior. 55. Greek warrior. LIST OF THE PLATES. vil No. 56. Grecian helmets. 57. Bacchanalian reclined on a couch, with his thyrsus, a tripod, and candelabrum by his side. 58. Female flute player, such as went about playing at entertainments. 59. Masks of fauns and bacchante. — Thyrsi. — Amphora;. — Tam- bourin. — Cymbals. — Ray tons, or drinking horns. — Patera. — The jynx. 60. Musical instruments of the Greeks. 61. Bacchanalian. — Mercury. — Bacchante. 62. Bacchante with the thyrsus. 63. Bacchante sounding the crotals. 64. Bacchante with the rod of sesamum. 65. Bacchante presenting the sacred fillet. 66. Bacchante carrying torches. 67. Lady seated, with umbrella, footstool, and pyxis, or jewel box. 68. Grecian head dresses. 69. Warrior. — Diana. — Minerva. 70. Female utensils and trinkets. 71. Priestess of Ceres carrying a torch. 72. Priestess of Ceres. 73 Victorious warrior descended from his car. 74. Greek warrior. 75. Greek warrior. 76. Greek warrior. 77- Theban shield and quivers. 78. Grecian and Syrian helmets. 79. Grecian head dresses. 80. Greek philosopher. Vlll LIST OF THE PLATES. VOL. II. No. 81. Greek philosopher. 82. Apollo. — Minerva. — Jupiter. 83. Lyres. 84. Jupiter. 85. Jupiter. 86. Three Grecian females. 87. Greek poet. 88. Grecian female. 89. Grecian female going to perform funeral rites. 90. Grecian female in mourning. 91. Grecian female. 92. Diana. 93. Amazon. — Minerva Pacifera, — Spartan virgin. 94. Diana. 95. Grecian lady. 96. Grecian head dresses. 97. Minerva in the diplax. 98. Grecian youth.— Philosopher— and Damsel. 99- Grecian female. 100. Telesphorus. — Muse. 101. Greek shields, spears, sword, scabbard, and greaves. 102. Greek helmets. 103. Grecian female. 104. Grecian female. 105. Bacchante dancinp-. 106. Females dancing and playing on the lyre. 107. Greek head dresses. 108. Grecian kings and queens of Egypt. 109- Jupiter. 110. Juno attired in various ways. LIST OF THE PLATES. IX No. 111. Jupiter Amnion. — Neptune. — Cybele. — Minerva. — Apollo. — Mercury. 112. Grecian female. 113. Grecian female. 114. Grecian female. 115. Diana. 116. Grecian head dresses. 1 17. Greek poet. 1 1 8. Different helmets of Minerva and others. 119. Grecian head dresses and helmets. 120. Juno wearing the diplax. 121. Grecian female. 122. Grecian female. 123. Grecian female. 124. Heads of Jupiter. — Juno. — Apollo. — Minerva. — Hercules. — Bacchus. 125. Scenic masks. 126". Musical instruments. 127. Grecian female. 128. Varieties of the great lyre or phorminx, and trigonon. 129. Grecian female. 130. Diana. — Ceres. — Venus. 131. Grecian female. 132. Grecian female. 133. Four Grecian females. 134. Grecian lamps, candelabra, patera, basket, and other utensils. 135. Tripod, candelabrum, chair, &c. &c. 136. Torches, tripods, cista, pyxis, simpulum, patera, and conse- crated cake. 137. Grecian peasants. 138. Grecian lady. 139- Grecian biga and candelabra. 140. Grecian female. 141. Canephora. X LIST OP THE PLATES. No. 142. Grecian female. 143. Comedian. 144. Grecian females. 145. Minerva. 146. Three Muses. — Diana. 147. Marble chair of Potamon. 148. Dancing girls. 149. Venus. — Muse. — Diana. 150. Apollo Musagetes. — Diana succincta. — Ceres. 151. Vases, pateras, lamp, &c. 152. Altar and sarcophagi. 153. Moveable sanctuary. 154. Diana succincta. 155. Grecian heads. 156. Gorgons. 157. Greek vases. 158. Roman orator. 159. Car of bronze. 160. Roman in his toga. 161. Roman youth, with the bulla. 162. Roman dresses. 163. Roman head dresses. 164. Sacrificator. — Priest. — Camillus. 165. Cap of the Flamens, and sacrificial instruments. 166. Sacrificial instruments. 167. Candelabrum. — Altar. — Tripod. 168. Lectisternium, and ancile, or shield of the Salian priests. 169. Camillus, or assistant at sacrifices. 170. Inferia. — Etruscan altar. — Other Etruscan altar. 171. Altars and sarcophagus. 172. Mile stone. — Cage of the sacred pullets. — Naval column. 173. Chairs and tripod. 174. Roman study. 175. Lavacrum or bath. LIST OP THE PLATES. XI No. 176. Biga. 177. Victorious auriga, or driver in the games of the circus. 178. Gloves worn by pancratiasti, and buskins. 179. Triumphal car. 180. Roman empress, with the attributes of plenty. 181. Roman emperor. 182. Roman empress. 183. Roman empress. 184. Roman general. 185. Roman boots and sandals. 186. Roman general. 187. Dacian cuirass. — Imperial cuirass. — Roman cuirass. 188. Roman officer. 189- Roman soldiers. 190. Roman soldier. 191. Roman soldiers. 192. Roman cuirasses and jacket worn by the night-watches of the Capitol. 193. Roman armour. 194. Roman standards, shields, and battering ram. 195. Poops and prows of Roman gallies. 196. Poop, prow, and rudder, of Roman galley. 197. Flamen. — Emperor crowned with laurel. — Emperor in the cha- racter of Frater Arvalis. — Empress Helena. — Emperor Constans. 198. Roman columbaria. 199- Roman columbaria. 200. Sarcophagi. ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 1 hat no branch of the art of painting is calculated to produce sentiments more exalted or pleasures more re- fined than that of historical painting, every one must allow ; that none has hitherto so little flourished in this country, every one must regret. The little ardour hitherto evinced among us in the pursuit of historical painting, may be partly attributed to the slender prospect which the artist has, of being ade- quately rewarded for so laborious and so difficult a pro- duction of the human intellect and hand, as an excellent historical picture. Of the more ordinary incidents of common nature, of the more humble forms of familiar life, every detail every where obtrudes itself spontaneously on the eye even of the unobserving multitude ; and therefore, in B 2 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. all times and places, every individual is more or less enabled to judge, in how far those homely models have been successfully transferred to the canvass ; and in all times and places, many will be found, desirous to possess and inclined to purchase the faithful representa- tions of these trivial originals, however easily produced. Landscapes and low-life groupes will every where meet a ready sale. But of the more elevated and striking events and per- sonages, only recorded in the page of the historian, or in the song of the poet, the more minute particulars are only thoroughly imprinted in the memory of a few more enlightened individuals ; and, in a country where the arts are in general little studied, even of these few a still smaller proportion only will be able to judge whether such events are well told by the pencil ; whe- ther, in a picture, each personage display the peculiar attitude and expression, belonging to his individual cha- racter and to the part he bears in the action represented ; and whether each dress, each accessary present the pecu- liar form and modification, appropriate to the age and region in which lies the scene. Thence, in such a country, few will be sufficiently struck with the merit of an historical composition, deeply meditated in all its ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 3 various parts, even to feel a wish to possess it ; and it is a great chance whether these few happen to be among the class sufficiently opulent to indulge that inclination ; and to remunerate as he deserves, the author of so labo- rious and so difficult a production. The finest historical picture, held at a price equal to its real value, would pre- cisely be the work of art likely to hang longest unsold on the walls of the British Gallery. In a country, therefore, in which the arts are not yet become a subject of study as profound as general, histo- rical painting will never flourish to any considerable extent, through the patronage of mere individuals, taken singly. It can only thrive through the encouragement of the nation in a body, or through the liberality of the sovereign ; and this species of public and national en- couragement historical painting has not yet experienced in this country ; at least in a mode sufficiently enlarged, to produce any very luxuriant or very copious fruits. Neither has the nation yet ordained any historical paint- ing, to commemorate the most glorious atchievements ; nor has it yet established any condign premiums, to call forth, to raise, and to foster the genius requisite worthily to represent any such. The little progress hitherto made among us in historical 4 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. painting, may partly also be attributed to the inadequate assistance which the artist meets with, in the acquire- ment of the various and recondite topics of information, indispensable to produce a good historical composition. No doubt a thorough command of those natural forms of the human body, and of those spontaneous changes of the human countenance, which are nearly the same in every age and clime, is the indispensable basis of histo- rical painting. But the most accurate knowledge of those fundamental and permanent modifications of simple nature, suffices not alone to bring the historical fabric to its full perfection. A thorough intimacy with those more superficial and transient modifications of art, de- vised to envelope, to shelter and to protect the human frame, which differ most widely from each other in different eras and regions, is a superstructure, without which the work cannot be completed. Where this latter species of knowledge is wanting ; where the artist finds himself at a loss how to clothe his naked figure in the dress and how to sprinkle his desert landscape with the habitations, appropriate to the subject and to the times which he aims at representing ; how to give to the armour and to the implements he scatters about, the pe- culiar physiognomy, belonging to the peculiar era of the ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 5 personages and to the peculiar locality of the scene which he wishes to exhibit, he must renounce the historical or mythological subject most congenial to his powers ; and must stoop to people his canvass, ready to teem with gods and heroes, with mere clowns and trollops. For, however happy the expression of his countenances, how- ever correct the drawing of his figures, without truth of costume, the story cannot be clearly told, the spectator cannot be brought home to the scene, the picture must ever remain a riddle ; like many of the most celebrated compositions of the Venetian school, which to the scientific and judicious beholder, are frequently nothing more than splendid absurdities ; tickling the eye, it is true, with the most vivid colours ; but disgusting the mind, through the most unfaithful forms. Now, though the industrious artist may attain the first and most fundamental of the requisites of historical paint- ing here set forth, namely, a thorough acquaintance with those general and permanent modifications of nature, of which the models every where expand around him, without extraneous assistance ; he cannot, thus unassisted, arrive at the second and more adventitious of the condi- tions of historic excellence here insisted upon ; namely, a minute familiarity with those partial and variable 6 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. modifications of art, of which the records are buried from the vulgar eye, in rare and recondite recesses. These records ; particularly in as far as relates to the more classical subjects, belonging to the fine ages of Greece and Rome, French artists have long enjoyed a superior facility in consulting. So far back as the reign of Lewis XIV. French students of promise used to be sent, at the public expence, to a French academy, which for the purpose of placing them at once in the very midst of the finest remains of ancient art, had been established in the very center of Rome ; and, notwithstanding the present French government has caused so many of the moveable chef d'ceuvres of Italy to be transplanted to the heart of France itself, it nevertheless has still improved even the establishment at Rome ; in order that French artists might retain the advantage of contemplating and of studying the many immoveable monuments of ancient art, which must live and die in their native soil. No provision of that sort has hitherto been made in England. The few students here, who are determined upon beholding, cost what may, the antiquarian treasures of Italy, must perform the journey to that distant land at their own expence ; must defray their residence in that expensive country out of their own purse ; and fre- ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 7 quently, when far from friends and home, find no other way to meet the demands of the passing day, but by such crude and hasty sketches, as defeat the very end of their venturous expedition, by leaving them no leisure to store their minds, through uninterrupted study and con- templation, with materials for tardier but more mature productions. The rest of the votaries of the brush must be content to stay at home, and to consult such representa- tions as the graver may offer them, in their own closet, of the distant originals, which they can never hope to behold. I correct myself. Our English artists 'cannot, in ge- neral, be said to possess even the advantage of consulting those more widely spreading though fainter shadows, which the more perfect and substantial forms, themselves concealed from their view, may cast on paper. In Paris there are public libraries, in which the student enjoys free access to such works on art, as are too voluminous or too expensive to line his own shelves. But such there are not in London ; and the few hundred pounds that would be requiied to form a collection of books, calculated for the purpose of instructing artists only, would be one of the small expenditures which, methinks, would repay the nation the greatest interest. 8 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. It must however be owned that the advantages derivable from these works, even where they are most accessible to artists, is neither so compleat as it should be ; nor so easily reaped as it might be ; nor so entirely free from drawbacks as it ought to be. Of many of the most cu- rious and instructive remnants of antiquity, contained in different galleries abroad, the existing descriptions, pon- derous as they are, offer no representations whatever ; and of those relics of ancient times, of which they pre- serve some record, they only present the images dispersed throughout many different volumes ; intermixed with a much greater proportion of indifferent objects ; often moreover most miserably distorted ; and yet always en- tirely destitute of every indication calculated to assist the student in distinguishing from the genuine and excellent antique trunk, the spurious and wretched modern em- blems and restorations, engrafted upon it ; whence it frequently happens that, in the first place, more antiqua- rian drudgery and research is required than the young artist can bestow, merely to collect from among that con- fused heap of rubbish the few materials suitable to his purpose ; and that, in the second place, more previous knowledge is necessary than he may possess, to discern what part of these materials he should discard as doubtful ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 9 or irrelevant, and what he may adopt as authentic and applicable ; what he may combine and what he should separate; what reject and what substitute. I have therefore often wished that some person who had made antiquarian investigation his hobby ; who had visited the chief countries in which are found collections of antiquities, in sculpture, painting, fictile vases, coins, and gems ; who had compared the original monuments of different musea with each other, and with the representa- tions existing of them in print ; and, finally, who had preserved memoranda and drawings of whatever interest- ing remains in different places had never yet been pub- lished, might be tempted to produce some compendium which, weeded on the one hand of the representations of all such monuments as are either confessedly spurious, or doubtful, or insignificant ; and enriched, on the other, with transcripts of all such specimens as, though genuine and in- teresting, have not yetfound their way in otherdescriptions, should offer as it were the purest spirit of many different larger works, condensed in one single restricted volume, nay often, the most interesting details of many different antique originals, concentrated in one single small figure, in such a way as to become capable of being again most easily and readily transfused in and applied to the most c 10 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. extended and diversified modern compositions ; and by so doing should form, to the large and expensive works above described, not only an useful substitute with those individuals who cannot command them, but even an in- teresting supplement with those who can and do possess them. This task never having been undertaken by those more able to accomplish it, I have at last, inadequate as were my abilities, attempted in some measure to perform myself. As I conceived the object of an epitome like the one I intended was, not to present the whole mass of informa- tion which the savant might possess on ancient costume, but only such details as the painter might oftenest want to introduce ; not to afford topics for discussion to the antiquarian, but only models for imitation to the artist; not to advance erudition, but only to promote taste, the representation of many remains more curious than pic- turesque, more rare even in ancient composition them- selves, than applicable to modern works of art, has been entirely omitted ; and as I moreover apprehended the limits of such a publication required its restricted designs to be accompanied by still more concise elucidations, a succinct account of the varieties of costume most interesting ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 11 to the artist, offered in the shape of a general introduction to these designs, has been preferred to a detailed illustra- tion of each of the plates in particular ; which must have occasioned many repetitions, and have swelled the vo- lume beyond a portable size. Where this method might have left indeterminate or doubtful the application of these general data to the different individual plates, the uncertainty has been as far as possible removed, or the deficiency supplied, by the short explanations introduced at the bottom of the plates themselves. All account of the authorities on which each of the designs individually rests has been studiously omitted, where, from a great diversity of models having supplied each in a very small proportion the different component parts of a single representation, this account must have become a long and circumstantial treatise ; and some indication of the sources from which the delineations are borrowed has only been admitted, where, from a single original having furnished in the lump almost the whole of the design offered, this account might be comprehended in a single line. That beauty of form, that sublimity of expression, that knowledge of external anatomy, that prodigious diversity in the texture of stuffs, and in the form of folds, that inexpressible elegance and that endless variety in the 12 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. throw of the drapery, displayed in the finest ancient works, could not possibly be done justice to, or even recorded, in the simple outlines on the small scale here offered. Yet, so difficult is it totally to obliterate all trace of the transcendant beauties of those perfect originals, even in the humblest imitations which still preserve any feature of resemblance, that even these trifling etchings may perhaps yet afford to the portrait painter some valu- able examples of easy and graceful attitudes for single figures ; as well as present to his fair model some useful hints for improving the elegance and dignity of her attire, by the dismissal of those paltry and insignificant gew-gaws and trimmings, that can only hold together through means of pins, sowings, and other eye-rending contrivances, unknown in ancient dresses; through which the breadth and simplicity of modern female attire is destroyed and frittered away. At any rate it is presumed that the theatrical performer, the ornamental architect, and every other artist, to whom the knowledge of classic costume is necessary, will find this work a sufficiently ample repertory of specimens, selected from the most genuine and perfect models. I shall begin my short sketch of ancient costume with that of the Asiatics ; because, in the first place, the ON THE COSTUME OF THE ANCIENTS. 13 dresses, the manufactures, the civilization of the inhabi- tants of Asia were of a much remoter date than those of the Greeks ; and at the same time experienced so much fewer subsequent changes, that many of their modes of apparel, recorded in the most ancient monuments, still resemble such as are worn to this day; and because, in the second place, between the fashions of the Asiatics and those of the Greeks there appears a total scission, which seems not to have existed between the attire of the Greeks and that of the Romans. For as the Greeks by degrees be- came the artists, the manufactures, the arbitri elegantiarum and the fashion-mongers of the Romans ; the costume of the one insensibly confounds itself with that of the other; and, if we except the toga, and a few more of the earliest national dresses of the Romans, all the remainder of the articles of Roman attire, particularly belonging to the later periods of their history, can only be considered as the Grecian dresses of the same era. [ 14 ] COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS 1 do not, under this head, mean to notice the Chinese, the Hindoos, or other more remote eastern nations, who were hardly known byname to the Greeks; who were never represented on their monuments ; and whose costume can be of little use to the historical painter. I only wish to offer a few observations with regard to those less distant inhabitants of Asia, who under the name of Medes, Assyrians, Persians, and Parthians, Amazons, Phrygians, Lycians, and Syrians, though a race totally distinct from the Greeks, had with these European neighbours some intercourse ; and whose representations not unfrequently recur in their paintings and sculpture. Of the male attire of the different nations inhabiting the region now called Asia Minor, the prevailing features seem to have been a vest with long tight sleeves reaching down to the wrists ; and long pantaloons descending to ON THE COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS. 15 the ancles, nay often hanging over the instep, and losing themselves within side the shoes or sandals. These pan- taloons even clothe those masculine ladies the Amazons, whenever they are represented on some warlike expedi- tion ; though at other times, when at home and engaged in peaceful pursuits, they appear (as on one of my fictile vases) in petticoats like other females. Sometimes these pantaloons were made of the skins of animals; at others of rich and fine tissues embroidered or painted in sprigs, spots, stripes, cheques, zig-zags, lozenges, or other ornaments. Sometimes they fit tight, at others they hang loose, and fall in large wrinkles over the shoes. The vest, always of the same stuff and design with the pantaloons, seems, like our modern waistcoats, to have opened in front ; and to have been closed by means of clasps or buttons placed at considerable distances from each other. Over this vest was most frequently worn a wide sleeve- less tunic of a different texture and pattern ; clasped on the shoulders, confined by a girdle round the waist, and when long, gathered up a second time, by means of ano- ther ligature lower down ; and of this tunic the skirts reached to about the middle of the thigh. To this thus far light and airy dress, aged and dignified persons still added 16 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS. a mantle or peplum, different from that of the Greeks, in being edged round with a regular and distinct fringe, not interwoven with the body of the stuff, but purposely tacked on ; and which studied enrichment, never observ- able in Grecian dresses, is in fact represented by Eschylus as a characteristic peculiarity of the peplum of the barba- rians, or Asiatic nations. The Parthian, and other more inland sovereigns of Asia, are sometimes, though seldom, represented on their coins bareheaded ; with their long hair and bushy beards most finically dressed and curled. Often they wear a cylindrical cap, rather wider at the top than at the bottom, called mitra by the Greeks, sometimes encircled by a diadem, and at others loaded with different emblematic ornaments ; the shape of which cap is to this day pre- served in that of the Armenian priests. The Medes and Persians seem more generally to have worn the cidaris, or conical cap, sometimes terminating in a sharp point ; at others truncated, and mostly loaded with ornaments. The prevailing male head-dress of the Asiatics, bordering on the Euxine and the Archipelago, appears to have been that which is generally known by the name of the Phrygian bonnet, and of which the cha- racteristic features are its point or top bent down forward, ON THE COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS. 17 and its long flaps descending on the shoulders. Some- times this covering seems to have been a mere cap of the most soft and pliant stuff, unable to support itself upright, and hanging down in large wrinkles; at others it appears to have formed a helmet of the most hard and inflexible substance — of leather or even of metal — stand- ing quite stiff and smooth, and enriched with embossed ornaments. In many of these helmets the flaps descending on the shoulders are four in number, and probably were cut out of the legs of the animals, whose hide or skin formed the body of the cap. In most of the lighter caps we only discern one single pair of flaps, which are often tucked up, and confined by a string round the crown. In the figures of Amazons we often see the beak of the helmet terminate in the bill of a griffin, and its spine or back rise in the jagged crest of that fabulous animal ; under which shape this covering may be considered as a sort of trophy, worn in consequence of the defeat, and formed out of the very spoil of some griffin, with whom the Amazons are represented as constantly at war. Mi- nerva herself sometimes appears in a Phrygian helmet of this species, probably when represented as worshipped at Troy; and Roma likewise wears it on many Latin D 18 ON THE COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS. coins ; in order, no doubt, to indicate the kindred which the Romans claimed with the Trojans. This Phrygian bonnet seems to have been retained by many of the officers of the Byzantine emperors ; and to have been, in its turn, again borrowed from these by several of the dig- nitaries of the Turkish empire ; nay, to have travelled, during the intercourse of the Venetians with the Greeks, as far westward as Venice itself, where the Doge conti- nued to wear it, to the last day of his power. The Asiatics often wore half-boots laced before, with four long depending flaps, shaped like those of their bonnets; and, like those, probably formed out of the legs of the animals, whose skins were converted into these buskins. Frequently eastern personages appear in shoes or slippers ; and seldom, if ever, in mere sandals, leaving the toes bare, like those worn by the Greeks. In war the Asiatics seem never, like the Greeks, to have worn either breast plates or greaves, but frequently a coat or jacket with sleeves, entirely of mail. A flap of mail frequently descended from under the helmet, to protect the neck and shoulders. The chief defensive weapon of the Asiatics was the pelta, or small shield in the form of a crescent ; some- times with and sometimes without its curved side divided ON THE COSTUME OF THE ASIATICS. 19 by a point into twin concavities. The peculiar offensive weapons of the inhabitants of Asia were the bipennis, or double battle-axe, the club, and the bow and arrow, gene- rally carried in two different partitions of the same case or quiver. The Dacians, though inhabitants of the European shores of the Euxine, but near neighbours to, and pro- bably of the same origin with the Asiatic nations here mentioned, seem to have deviated little from them in their costume. They wore their shoes or soles fastened with long strings, wound several times round the ancle; and their pantaloons very wide. On the Trajan column not only many of the Dacian soldiers themselves, but even many of their horses, appear entirely enveloped in a coat of mail, or covering of small scales, tightly fitting the limbs. Their helmets are conical, and end in a sharp spike. Many of the Asiatic nations were celebrated for their constant use and skilful management of horses ; and are often represented as fighting on horseback against Greeks on foot. [ 20 ] GRECIAN COSTUME. Whether we regard the Grecian attire of the head or of the body, it is precisely that of the earliest and rudest periods, which exhibits in its arrangement the greatest degree of study, and if I may so call it, of foppishness. In those Grecian basso-relievos and statues which either really are of very early workmanship, or which at least profess to imitate the style of work of the early ages, (for- merly mistaken for Etruscan) every lock of hair is divided into symmetrical curls or ringlets, and every fold of the garment into parallel plaits ; and not only the internal evi- dence of those monuments themselves, but the concurring testimony of authors, shews that in those remote ages heated irons were employed both to curl the hair and beard, and to plait the drapery. It was only in later times that the covering, as well of the head as of the body, was left to assume a more easy and uncontrolled flow. GRECIAN COSTUME. 21 At first, as appears both from ancient sculpture and paintings, men and women alike wore their hair descend- ing partly before and partly behind in a number of long separate locks, either of a flat and zig-zagged, or of a round and corkscrew shape. A little later it grew the fashion to collect the whole of the hair hanging down the back, by means of a riband, into a single broad stream, and only to leave in front one, two, or three long narrow locks hanging down separately ; and this is the head- dress which Minerva, a maiden affecting old fashions and formality, never seems to have quitted ; and which Bac- chus, though not originally quite so formal, when on his return from amongst the philosophers of India, he chose himself to adopt the beard and mien of a sage, thought pro- per to reassume. Later still the queue depending down the back was taken up, and doubled into a club ; and the side locks only continued to reach, in front, as low down as the nipple. But these also gradually shrunk away into a greater number of smaller tufts or ringlets, hanging down about the ears, and leaving the neck quite uncon- fined and bare. So neatly was the hair arranged in both sexes round the forehead, and in the males round the chin, as sometimes to resemble the cells of a bee-hive ; and at others waves and meanders executed in wire-work. 22 GRECIAN COSTUME. With regard to the attire of the body, the innermost garment, that which does not indeed always appear to have been worn; but which, when worn, was always next the skin, seems to have been of a light creasy stuff, similar to the cotton gauzes of which to this day the eastern nations make their shirts. The peculiar texture of this stuff not admitting of broad folds or drapery, this under garment was in early times cut into shapes, fitting the body and arms very closely; and confined or joined round the neck, and down the sleeves, by substantial hems or stays of some stouter tissue. But even this part of the attire seems in later times to have been worn very wide and loose round the body, and often at the shoulders ; where, as in the figures of Minerva and of the bearded Bacchus, the sleeves are gathered up in such a way as totally to lose their shape. The outer garment assumes, in the figures of the old style, an infinite variety of shapes; but seems always to have been studiously plaited ; so as to form a number of flat and parallel folds across its surface ; a zig-zag line along its edge ; and a sharp point at each of its angles. Though the costume of the Greeks appears to have been of the species just described, at the periods when the sieges of Troy and of Thebes were supposed to have GRECIAN COSTUME. 2,3 taken place, and is in fact represented as such in the more ancient monuments relative to those events ; the latter works of art, even when they profess to display person- ages belonging to those early ages, usually present them in the more unconfined habiliments of more recent times. In the male figures even of an Hercules, an Achilles, and a Theseus, we generally find the long formal ringlets of the heroic ages, replaced by the short crops of historic periods. I shall now enter into a little greater detail with regard to the different pieces of which was composed the Grecian habiliment. The principal piece of attire both of men and of women, that which was worn next the skin, and which, consequently, whenever more than one different garment were worn one over the other, was undermost, bore in Greek the name of yiTG>v\ in Latin that of tunica. It was of a light tissue; in earliest times made of wool, in later periods of flax, and last of all, of flax mixed with silk, or even of pure silk. Its body was in general composed of two square pieces sewed together on the sides. Some- times it remained sleeveless, and only offered for the bare arms two openings, closed over the shoulders by means of clasps or buttons. At other times it had very long 24 GRECIAN COSTUME. and wide sleeves; and these were not unfrequently, as in the figures of Minerva and of the bearded Bacchus, gathered up under the arm-pits, so as still to leave the arms in a great measure bare. Most usually however it branched out into a pair of tight sleeves, reaching to near the elbow ; which were in the most ancient dresses close all round, with a broad stiff band running down the seams, and in more modern habiliments open in their whole length, and only confined by means of small buttons, carried down the arms, and placed so near the edge of the stuff, as in their intervals to shew the skin. In very richly embroidered tunics, the sleeves sometimes descended to the wrists ; at others they hardly reached half way down the upper arm. The tunic was worn by females either quite loose, or confined by a girdle ; and this girdle was either drawn tight round the waist, or loosely slung round the loins. Often, when the tunic was very long, and would other- wise have entangled the feet, it was drawn over the girdle in such a way as to conceal the latter entirely underneath its folds. It is not uncommon to see two girdles of different widths worn together, the one very high up, and the other very low down, so as to form between the two, in the tunic, a puckered interval ; but GRECIAN COSTUME. 25 this fashion was only applied to short tunics by Diana, the wood-nymphs, and other females, fond of the chase, the foot race, and other such martial exercises, as were in- compatible with long petticoats. Among the male part of the Greek nation, those who like philosophers and others affected great austerity, ab- stained entirely from wearing the tunic ; and contented themselves with throwing over their naked body a simple cloak or mantle ; and even those less austere personages who indulged in the luxury of the tunic, wore it shorter than the Asiatic males, or than their own women, and almost always confined by a girdle. From Greek vases and paintings we learn that the tunic often was adorned with sprigs, spots, stars, 8cc. worked in the ground of the stuff; and rich, scrolls, meanders, kc. carried round its edges ; and this tunic was frequently, as well out of doors as within, worn without any other more external garment. In mourning, when the Grecian ladies cut their hair close to the head, they wore the tunic black ; as appears from two of my Greek vases, both representing Electra performing funeral rites at the tomb of Agamemnon. Over this tunic or under-garment, which was made to reach the whole length of the body, down to the feet, E 2,6 GRECIAN COSTUME. Grecian females generally, though not always, wore a se- cond and more external garment ; only intended to afford an additional covering or protection to the upper half of the person. This species of bib seems to have been com- posed of a square piece of stuff, in form like our shawls or scarfs, folded double, so as to be apparently reduced to half its original width; and was worn with the doubled part upwards, and the edge or border downwards, next the zone or girdle. It was suspended round the chest and back, in such a way that its center came under the left arm, and its two ends hung down loose under the right arm; and, according as the piece was square or oblong, these ends either only reached to the hips, or to the ancles. The whole was secured by means of two clasps or buttons, which fastened together the fore and hind part over each shoulder. In later times, this bib, from a square piece of stuff doubled, seems to have become a mere single narrow slip; only hanging down a very short way over the breasts; and allowing the girdle, even when fixed as high as possible, to appear underneath. The peplum constituted the outermost covering of the body. Among the Greeks it was common to both sexes; but was chiefly reserved for occasions of ceremony or of GRECIAN COSTUME. 27 public appearance ; and as well in its texture as in its shape, seemed to answer our shawl. When very long and ample, so as to admit of being wound twice round the body — first under the arms, and the second time, over the shoulders — it assumed the name of diplax. In rainy or cold weather it was drawn over the head. At other times this mode of wearing it, was expressive of humility or of grief, and was adopted by men and women, when in mourning, or when performing sacred rites ; on both which accounts it was thus worn by Agamemnon, when going to sacrifice his daughter. This peplum was never fastened on by means of clasps or buttons, but only prevented from slipping off through its own involutions. Endless were the combinations which these exhibited ; and in nothing do we see more ingenuity exerted, or more fancy displayed, than in the various modes of making the peplum form grand and con- trasted draperies. Indeed the different degrees of simpli- city or of grace, observable in the throw of the peplum, were regarded as indicating the different degrees of rusti- city or of refinement, inherent in the disposition of the wearer. For the sake of dignity, all the goddesses of the highest class, Venus excepted, wore the peplum ; but for the 28 GRECIAN COSTUME. sake of convenience, Diana generally had her's furled up and drawn tight over the shoulders and round the waist, so as to form a girdle, with the ends hanging down before or behind. Among the Greeks the peplum never had, as among the barbarians, its whole circumference adorned by a separate fringe, but only its corners loaded with little metal weights or drops, in order to make them hang down more straight and even. A veil of lighter tissue than the peplum was often worn by females. It served both as an appendage of rank, and as a sign of modesty. On the first account it is seen co- vering the diadem of Juno, the mitra of Ceres, and the turreted crown of Cybele, and of the emblematical figures of cities and of provinces ; and on the latter account it is made, in ancient representations of nuptials, to conceal the face of the bride. Penelope, when urged to state whether she preferred staying with her father, or follow- ing her husband, is represented expressing her prefer- ence of the latter, merely by drawing her veil over her blushing features. Gods and heroes, when travelling, or on some warlike expedition, and men in inferior stations or of simple manners at all times, used, instead of the ample peplum, to wear a shorter and simpler cloak, called chlamys, GRECIAN COSTUME. 29 fastened over the shoulder or upon the chest with a clasp. Such is the mantle we observe in the Belvedere Apollo; and in many statues of Mercury, a traveller by profession ; of heroes and of others. Besides these dresses common among all ranks and sta- tions, the Greeks had certain other vestments appropriate to certain peculiar characters and offices. Apollo, when in the company of the Muses, wore, in compliment to the modesty of these learned virgins, a long flowing robe similar to that of females. Bacchus, and his followers of both sexes, often appear wrapped up in a goat or a tiger skin ; and heralds distinguish themselves by a short stiff jacket, divided in formal partitions, not unlike the coats of arms of the same gentry in the times of chivalry. Actors, comic and tragic, as well as personages following processions sacred or prophane, wore fantastical dresses, often represented on vases and other antique monuments. Notwithstanding that the numerous colourless Greek statues still in existence, are apt to impress us with an idea that the Grecian attire was most simple and uniform in its hue ; the Greek vases found buried in tombs ; the paintings dug out of Herculaneum and of Pompeva, and even a few statues in marble and in bronze, enriched with stained or with inlaid borders, prove that it was equally gaudy in its colours, and studied in its designs. 30 GRECIAN COSTUME. Greatly diversified were, among the Grecian females, the coverings of both extremities. Ladies reckoned among the ornaments of the head the mitra or bushel- shaped crown, peculiarly affected by Ceres; the tiara, or crescent-formed diadem, worn by Juno and by Venus; and ribands, rows of beads, wreaths of flowers, nettings, fillets, skewers, and gew-gaws innumerable. The feet were sometimes left entirely bare. Sometimes they were only protected underneath by a simple sole, tied by means of thongs or strings, disposed in a variety of elegant ways across the instep, and around the ancle ; and sometimes they were also shielded above by means of shoes or half- boots, laced before, and lined with the fur of animals of the cat tribe, whose muzzle and claws hung down from the top. Ear-rings in various shapes, necklaces in nu- merous rows, bracelets in the forms of hoops or snakes, for the upper and lower arms, and various other trinkets, were in great request, and were kept in boxes, called pyxis, from the name of the wood of which they were originally made ; and these caskets, as well as the small oval hand mirrors of metal, the indispensable insignia of courtesans; the umbrella; the fan formed of leaves or of feathers ; the calathus, or basket of reeds to hold the work ; and all the other utensils and appendages, intended to receive, to protect, or to set off whatever appertained GRECIAN COSTUME. 31 to female dress and embellishment, are often represented on vases. The men, when travelling, protected their heads from the heat or the wet, by a flat broad brimmed hat, tied under the chin with strings, by which, when thrown back, it hung suspended on the shoulders. Mercury, and heroes, on their journies, are represented wearing this hat. There was also a conical cap, without a rim, worn chiefly by sea-faring people ; and which therefore cha- racterises Ulysses. The same variety in the covering of the feet, was observable among men as among women. Soldiers fastened a coarse sole, by means of a few strings, round the ancle ; philosophers wore a plain shoe. Elegant sandals, with straps and thongs cut into various shapes, graced the feet of men of rank and fashion. Crowns and wreaths of various forms and materials were much in use among the Greeks. Some wreaths were peculiarly consecrated to particular deities, as that of towers to Cybele, and to the figures emblematic of cities ; that of oak leaves to Jupiter, of laurel leaves to Apollo, of ivy and of vine branches to Bacchus, of poplar to Hercules, of wheat-ears to Ceres, of gold or myrtle to Venus, of fir twigs to the fauns and silvans, and of reeds 32 GRECIAN COSTUME. to the river gods. Other wreaths were peculiarly given as rewards to the winners in particular games. Wild olive was the recompense in the Olympic, laurel in the Pythiac, parsley in the Nemean, and pine twigs in the Isthmic games. Other similar ornaments for the head, again, served to indicate peculiar stations or ceremonies. The diadem or fillet called credemnon, was among gods reserved forjupiter, Neptune, Apollo, and Bacchus, and among men, regarded as the peculiar mark of royalty. The radiated crown, formed of long sharp spikes, emblematic of the sun, and represented as issuing from the head of that deity, was first worn only on the tiaras of the Arme- nian and Parthian kings ; and afterwards became adopted by the Greek sovereigns of Egypt and of Syria. A wreath of olive branches was worn by ordinary men at the birth of a son ; and a garland of flowers at weddings and festivals ; at feasts, in order that the scent might be more fully enjoyed, the wreath was often worn, not round the head, but round the neck. As a symbol of power, gods, sovereigns, and heralds, carried the sceptre or hasta, terminated by the represen- tation of some animal or flower, instead of a point. As the emblem of their mission, Mercury and all messengers bore the caduceus, twined round with serpents. GRECIAN COSTUME. 33 The defensive armour of the Greeks consisted of a helmet, breast-plate, greaves, and shield. Of the helmet there were two principal sorts ; that with an immoveable visor, projecting before it, like a species of mask; and that with a moveable visor, sliding over it in the shape of a mere slip of metal. The helmet with the immoveable visor, when thrown back so as to uncover the face, necessarily left a great vacuum between its own crown and the skull of the wearer; and generally had, in order to protect the cheeks, two leather flaps, which, when not used, were turned up, inside the helmet. The helmet with the moveable visor, usually displayed for the same purpose a pair of concave metal plates, which were suspended from hinges, and when not wanted were turned up, outside the helmet, Frequently one or more horses' manes, pared away to a square edge, rose from the back of the helmet, and sometimes two horns or two straight feathers issued from the sides. Quadrigae, sphinxes, griffins, sea- horses, and other insignia, richly embossed, often covered the surface of these helmets. The body was guarded by a breast-plate or cuirass; which seems sometimes to have been composed of two large pieces only, one for the back and the other for the breast, joined together at the sides; and sometimes to F 34 GRECIAN COSTUME. have been formed of a number of smaller pieces, either in the form of long slips or of square plates, apparently fastened, by means of studs, on a leather doublet. The shoulders were protected by a separate piece, in the shape of a short mantle, of which the ends or points descended on the chest, and were fastened by means of strings or clasps to the breast-plate. Generally, in Greek armour, this cuirass is cut round at the loins ; sometimes however it follows the outline of the abdomen ; and from it hang down one or more rows of straps of leather, or of slips of metal, intended to protect the thighs. The legs were guarded by means of greaves, rising very high above the knees, and probably of a very elastic tex- ture ; as, notwithstanding they appear very stiff, their opposite edges approach very near behind, where they are retained by means of loops or clasps. Those greaves are frequently omitted, particularly in figures of a later date. The most usual shield was very large and perfectly circu- lar ; with a broad flat rim , and the centre very much raised ; like a deep dish turned upside down. The Theban shield, instead of being round, was oval, and had two notches cut in the sides, probably to pass the spear, or javelin, or arrow, through. All shields were furnished GRECIAN COSTUME. 3 5 inside with loops, some intended to encircle the arm, and others to be laid hold of by the hand. Emblems and devices were as common on ancient shields as on the bucklers of the crusaders. Sometimes, on fictile vases, we observe a species of apron or curtain, suspended from the shield by way of a screen or protection to the legs. The chief offensive weapon of the Greeks was the sword. It was short and broad, and suspended from a belt, on the left side, or in front. Next in rank came the spear ; long, thin, with a point at the nether end, to fix it in the ground, and of this species of weapon warriors generally carried a pair. Hercules, Apollo, Diana, and Cupid, were represented with the bow and arrows. The use of these however re- mained not in after-times common among the Greeks, as it did among the Barbarians. Of the quivers some were calculated to contain both bow and arrows, others arrows only. Some were square, some round. Many had a cover to them to protect the arrows from dust and rain, and many appear lined with skins ; they were slung across the back or sides, by means of a belt passing over the right shoulder. Independent of the arms for use, there was armour of lighter and richer texture, wrought solely for processions and trophies ; among the helmets belonging to this latter class, some had highly finished metal masks attached to them. 36 GRECIAN COSTUME. The car of each Grecian deity, almost, was drawn by some peculiar kind of animal : that of Juno by peacocks, of Apollo by griffins, of Diana by stags, of Venus by swans or turtle doves, of Mercury by rams, of Minerva by owls, of Cybele by lions, of Bacchus by panthers, of Neptune by sea-horses. In early times warriors among the Greeks made great use in battle of cars or chariots, drawn by two horses, in which the hero fought standing, while his squire or at- tendant guided the horses. In after times these bigae, as well as the quadrigae, drawn by four horses abreast, were chiefly reserved for journies or chariot races. The Gorgon's head, with its round chaps, wide mouth, and tongue drawn out, emblematic of the full moon, and regarded as an amulet or safeguard against incantations and spells, is for that reason found not only on the for- midable aegis of Jupiter and of Minerva, as well as on cinerary urns, and in tombs, but on the Greek shields and breast-plates, at the pole ends of their chariots, and in the most conspicuous parts of every other instrument of de- fence or protection to the living or the dead. Of the Greek gallies, or ships of war, the prow was decorated with the cheniscus, frequently formed like the head and neck of an aquatic bird ; and the poop with the aplustrum, shaped like a sort of honey-suckle. Two large GRECIAN COSTUME. 3 7 eyes were generally represented near the prow, as if to enable the vessel, like a fish, to see its way through the waves. I shall not make this short sketch an antiquarian treatise, by launching into an elaborate description of Grecian fes- tivals. In the religious processions of the Greeks masks were used, as well as on their theatre, in order to represent the attendants of the god who was worshipped. Thus, in Bacchanalian processions, (the endless subject of ancient bas-reliefs and paintings,) the fauns, satyrs, and other mon- strous beings, are only human individuals masked; and in initiations and mysteries, the winged genii are in the same predicament : and the deception must have been the greater, as the ancient masks were made to cover the whole head. Of these masks, which, together with all else that belonged to the theatre, were consecrated to Bacchus, there was an infinite variety. Some representing abstract feelings or characters; such as joy, grief, laughter, dignity, vulgarity — marked in the comic, tragic, and satyric masks; others offering portraits of real individuals, living or dead. The thyrsus, so frequently introduced, was only a spear, of which the point was stuck in a pine cone, or wound round with ivy leaves ; afterwards, to render less dangerous the blows given with it, during drunkenness, it was made of the reed call ferula. 3 8 GRECIAN COSTUME. Infinitely varied were the Greek dances ; some slow, some quick, some grave, some gay, some voluptuous, some warlike. It was common at feasts to have women, that professed dancing and music, called in to entertain the guests. As of musical modes, so of musical instruments, there was a great diversity. The phorminx, or large lyre, dedi- cated to Apollo, and played upon with an ivory instru- ment called plectrum, seems, from certain very intricate and minute parts always recurring in its representations, to have been a very complicated structure. It was usually fastened to a belt, hung across the shoulders, and some- times suspended from the wrist of the left hand, while played upon with the right. The cithara, or smaller lyre, dedicated to Mercury, and more strictly called chelys, when the body was formed of a tortoise shell, and the arms composed of a pair of goats horns, was played upon by the fingers. The barbitos, was a much longer instrument, and emit- ting a graver sound. To these may be added the trigonum, or triangle ; an instrument borrowed by the Greeks from eastern nations, and much resembling the harp. Independent of these instruments with cords, the Greeks had several wind instruments, principally the GRECIAN COSTUME. 39 double flute, and the syrinx, or Pan's flute. To these may- be added certain instruments for producing mere noise, such as the tympanon or tambourine, a metal hoop co- vered with skin, and adorned with ribands or bells, chiefly used in the festivals of Bacchus and of Cybele ; the crem- bala, or cymbals, formed of metal cups ; and the crotals, or castagnets, formed of wooden shells With respect to Grecian architecture I shall only ob- serve, that the roofs and pediments of buildings were ge- nerally very richly fringed with tiles of different shapes, to turn off the rain, and with spouts of various forms, to carry off the water. The sarcophagi, made to imitate the forms of houses, generally had covers wrought in imitation of those roofs. Terms, or square pillars, first only surmounted with heads of Mercury, from whom they derived their name ; afterwards with those of other gods, of heroes, of states- men, and of philosophers, were much used for the divi- sion and support of book-pressess, of galleries, of balus- trades, of gates, and of palings. Tripods, some of marble, and with stationary legs, others of metal and with legs made to unhook from the cup or vessel, and to fold up by means of hinges and sliders, were in great request both for religious and for domestic purposes : as well as 40 GRECIAN COSTUME. candelabra, and lamps, either supported on a base, or suspended from a chain. To afford repose to the body, the Greeks had couches covered with skins and drapery, on which several persons might lie with their bodies half raised ; or large arm chairs with foot-stools, called thrones ; or more portable chairs, divested of arms, and of which the legs seem frequently to have been made of elephant's tusks ; or still lighter seats, without either arms or back, but with legs imitated from those of animals, and made to fold up. Infinite was the variety of Greek vases for religious rites and for domestic purposes. Among the most singular was the rhyton, or drinking horn, terminated by the head of some animal. These vessels depended, for their beauty, on that elegance of outline, which may make the plainest utensil look graceful, and not on that mere richness of deco- ration, which cannot prevent the most costly piece of fur- niture, where the former is neglected, from remaining uncouth and ugly. [41 ] COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 1 h e pre-eminent dress of the Romans, that peculiar attire which distinguished them in the most marked way, as well from the Greeks as from the Barbarians, was the toga. This they seem to have derived from their neigh- bours the Etrurians; and it may be called their true na- tional garb. In the earliest ages of Rome it appears to have been worn by the women as well as by the men, by the lowest orders as well as by the highest, at home as well as abroad, in the country as well as in town. Love of novelty probably caused it first to be relinquished by the women ; next, motives of convenience, by the men in lower stations ; and afterwards, fondness of ease and unconstraint, even by the men of higher rank, when en- joying the obscurity of private life, or the retirement of the country. From the unsuccessful attempts however, first of Augustus, and afterwards of Domitian, entirely to G 42 COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. abolish a dress, which still continued to remind the people more forcibly than was wished, of their ancient liberty, it appears that the toga remained the costume of state and dignity with the patricians, nay, with the em- perors themselves, unto the last days of Rome's undivided splendor; and we may, I think, assert, that not until the empire was tranferred to Constantinople, did the toga be- come entirely superseded by that more decidedly Grecian dress, the pallium. Infinite have been the queries of the learned, whether the toga of the Romans was, like the peplum of the Greeks, a square piece of stuff; whether it was a round one, or whether, preserving a medium between these two extremes, it offered one side straight, and the other rounded off in a semi-circle. To judge from the number- less statues dressed in togas, in none of which there ap- pear any corners perfectly square, though in all of them may be traced some hems or edges describing a straight, and others a curved line, I am most inclined to think the semicircular to have been the true form of the toga. Great pains have also been taken to discover, whether the toga derived its form on the body, like the pallium, from the mere spontaneous throw of the whole, or, like modern dresses, from some studious and permanent contrivance, to COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 43 model and to fasten together the different component parts ; and though no tacks or fastenings of any sort are visible in the toga, their existence may be inferred from the great formality, and little variation, displayed in its divisions and folds. In general the toga seems only to have formed as it were a short sleeve to the right arm, which was left unconfined, but to have covered the right arm down to the wrist. A sort of loop or bag of folds was made to hang over the sloped drapery in front ; and the folds were ample enough in the back to admit of the garment being occasionally drawn over the head, as it was customary to do during religious ceremonies, and pro- bably, in rainy weather. The material of the toga was wool. The colour, in early ages, its own natural yellowish hue. In later pe- riods this seems however only to have been retained in the togas of the higher orders : inferior persons wearing theirs dyed ; and candidates bleached by an artificial pro- cess. In times of mourning the toga was worn black ; or was left off altogether. Priests and magistrates wore the toga pretexta, or toga edged with a purple border, called pretexta. This toga pretexta was, as well as the bulla or small round gold box suspended on the breast by way of an amulet, worn 44 COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. by all youths of noble birth, to the age of fifteen ; when both these insignia of juvenility were deposed together, for the toga without rim or border, called the toga pura. The knights wore the trabea, or toga striped with pur- ple throughout ; and the generals, during their triumphal entries, were clad in a toga entirely of purple ; to which gradually became added a rich embroidery of gold. The tunic, of later introduction among the Romans than the toga, was regarded as a species of luxury ; and was discarded by those who displayed an affected humi- lity; such as candidates and others. The tunic of the men only reached half way down the thigh ; longer tunics being regarded in the male sex as a mark of effe- minacy, and left to women, and to eastern nations. The inferior functionaries at sacrifices wore the tunic without the toga; so did the soldiers, when in camp. The tunic of senators was edged round with a broad purple border, called lati-clavus ; and that of the knights with a narrow purple border, called angusti-clavus. I shall here observe that the hue, denominated purple by the ancients, seems to have run through all the various shades of colour intervening between scarlet, crimson, and the deep blue, called purple at the present day. The pallium, or mantle of the Greeks, from its being COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 4 5 less cumbersome and trailing than the toga of the Romans, by degrees superseded the latter in the country and in the camp. When worn over armour, and fastened on the right shoulder with a clasp or button, this cloak assumed the name of paludamentum. The common people used to wear a sort of cloak, made of very coarse brown wool, and provided with a hood, which was called cucullus. This hooded cloak, always given to Telesphorus, the youthful companion of Escu- lapius, is to this day the usual screen against cold and wet, with all the seafaring inhabitants of the Archipelago and the shores of the Mediterranean. The Roman ladies, wore by way of under-garment, a long tunic descending to the feet, and more peculiarly denomi- nated stola ; which assumed all the variety of modification displayed in the corresponding garment of the Grecian fe- males. Over the stola they also adopted the Greek peplum, under the name of palla ; which palla however, was never worn, among the Romans, as the peplum was among the Greeks, by men. This external covering, as may be observed in the statues of Roman empresses, displayed the same varieties of drapery or throw, at Rome as at Athens. The chaussure of the togati seems to have been a sort of short boot or shoe, with straps crossed over the instep, 46 COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. called calceus. The foot covering of the ladies at first had the same shape ; but by degrees this latter assumed all the varieties of form of the Grecian sandal. Like all nations in whom were combined great means and opu- lence, wherewith to foment the exuberances of fashion, and little taste, through which to check its pruriencies, the Romans carried to a great pitch the shapeless extrava- gance of some parts of their attire ; as may be seen in the absurd head dresses of the busts of Roman matrons, pre- served in the capitol. The Romans, like the Greeks, had peculiar dresses appropriated to peculiar offices and dignities. The Flamens, or priests of Jupiter, wore a pointed cap or helmet, called apex, with a ball of cotton wound round the spike. The priests consecrated to other deities wore the infula, or twisted fillet; from which descended on each side along the neck flowing ribands. Wreaths of various sorts were in use among the Ro- mans, as well as among the Greeks, and were chiefly given as rewards of military atchievements. The corona cas- trensis, wrought in imitation of a palisadoe, was presented to whoever had been the first to penetrate into an enemy's camp. The corona muralis, shaped in the semblance of battlements, to whoever had been the first to scale the walls COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 4 7 of a besieged city. The civic crown, formed of oak leaves, to whoever had saved the life of a citizen; and the naval crown, composed of the rostra, or beaks of gallies, to whoever had been the first to board the vessel of an enemy. When the arts fell into a total decline, glitter of mate- rials became the sole substitute for beauty of forms ; and hence the Grecian and Roman portraits of the middle ages are loaded from head to foot with pearls and precious stones. The armour of the Romans seems chiefly to have been that of the Greeks of the same period. The helmet with the fixed visor, and which required being thrown back in its whole, in order to uncover the face, fell very early into disuse in the very heart of Greece itself; and never appears on Roman figures. On these the cuirass or lorica, when belonging to distinguished personages, ge- nerally follows the outline of the abdomen ; and appears hammered out into all the natural convexities and conca- vities of the human body. It was often enriched, on the belly, with embossed figures, on the breast, with a gorgon's head by way of amulet; and on the shoulder- plates, with scrolls, thunderbolts, kc. This cuirass was made to open at the sides, where the breast and back- plates joined by means of clasps and hinges. One or more rows of straps, richly adorned and fringed, de- 48 COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. scended by way of protection, not only over the thighs, but also down the upper arms. The cuirass of the com- mon soldiers often was cut simply round, and destitute of such straps. Sometimes this latter was formed of metal hoops or plates, sliding over each other; some- times of small scales, equally moveable ; and sometimes of a plain surface of metal or leather. The Roman sol- diers wore no greaves ; but either sandals tied with strings, or short boots, laced before, and lined with the skin of some animal, of which the muzzle and claws were displayed as an ornamental finish. The Roman shield seems never to have resembled the large round buckler, used by the Greeks, nor the crescent- shaped one peculiar to the Asiatics ; but to have offered an oblong square, or an oval, or a hexagon, or an octagon. The cavalry alone wore a circular shield, but of small dimensions, called parma. Each different legion had its peculiar device marked on its shields. As offensive weapons the Romans had a sword, of somewhat greater length than that of the Greeks; a long spear, of which they never let go their hold ; and a short javelin which they used to fling out. Their armies were moreover provided with archers and with slingers. Infinite were the variety and magnificence of their COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 49 military insignia. These offered, fixed one over the other along the poles of spears, eagles, figures of victory, laurel wreaths, banners, tablets inscribed with the initials of the republic and the number of the legion, pateras for libations, consecrated fillets, and other emblems civil, military, and religious. The poops of the Roman gallies had for ornament the aplustrum ; their prows, spurs shaped like swords, with which they hit and destroyed those of the enemy. The architecture of the Romans was only that of the Greeks on its decline ; that of the Greeks, divested of its consistency, its breadth, its chastity. From all the wealth and population, however, of other countries flowing to- wards Rome, certain species of buildings, such as cir- cusses, amphitheatres, triumphal arches, aqueducts, and baths, seem to have become not only more numerous but more splendid in that capital of the world, than any that could be erected in the small republics of Greece. The temples also, at Rome, from the greater variety of wor- ships, assumed a greater diversity of shapes. The altars of the Romans, as well as those of the Greeks, displayed a vast variety both of purposes and forms. Some were intended for burning incense only ; others for receiving libations of milk or of wine ; others H 50 COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. for consuming the first fruits of the earth ; others for the sacrificing of victims. Many were only meant for shew, and erected in commemoration of some signal event, or in gratitude for some important benefit. Of these altars some were round, some triangular, some square. They displayed, by way of ornament, sculptured skulls of such animals, and wreaths of such fruits and flowers as were consecrated to the deity they served to worship, mixed with sacred fillets, instruments of sacrifice, inscriptions, bas-reliefs, &c. Among the sacred instruments, observable in the pro- cessions and sacrifices of the Romans, may be numbered the pastoral staff which Romulus made use of to mark out the different districts of his new city; and which afterwards, under the name of lituus, became the distinctive badge of honour of the augurs, who used in the same way to mark out with it the different regions of the heavens, when drawing their prognostics. This lituus, together with the bason containing the lustral water, the aspergillum to sprinkle it, the simpulum or ewer for holding the con- secrated wine, the cotton fillets for adorning the horns of the victim, the axe for slaying, and the single and double knives for cutting it up, are frequently represented in bas-reliefs. COSTUME OF THE ROMANS. 51 In the decoration and furniture of their houses the Romans were very sumptuous. Rich marbles and gay arabescoes decorated the walls, elegant mosaics the floors of their apartments. In the triclinia or couches, on which they reclined at their feasts, they went to an immense expence. The curule chairs, or seats of state of the patricians, were wrought in ivory; and prodigious is the number of beautiful utensils in marble and in bronze, richly chased and inlaid with silver, that have been found among the ruins of that comparatively insignificant provincial city Pompeya. Greeks seem at all times to have been employed to give and to execute the designs, intended to display the taste and opulence of the Romans. The writings of these latter were contained in two different sorts of receptacles ; namely in rolls of pa- pyrus or parchment, called volumina; and on tablets of box, ivory, or metal, called codices. When travelling they used to carry their manuscripts in a little round case, called scrinium. [ 52 ] Before I dismiss my reader entirely, I beg I may be allowed the pleasure of expressing my obligations to Mr. Moses, the young artist who has engraved the greatest number of my drawings ; and those that have been trans- ferred on copper in the most superior manner. In shadowed engravings, offering figures surrounded by accessaries and back-ground, a small portion only of the collective merit of the whole performance depends on the peculiar excellence of the principal outline. Other objects by which that outline is obscured or confused, such as the darkness of the shadows, and the flicker of the lights, prevent both its beauties and its defects from be- coming very prominent. Hence such engravings may be executed more mechanically, by artificers themselves less skilled in drawing. Not so engravings in mere outline, destitute of shadow, of accessaries, and of back-ground. In these, every part of that outline stands as it were by itself, unassisted and undisguised, in the fullest light, and in the most promi- nent situation. In these, whatever does not positively add to the merit of the performance, positively detracts from it. In these no part remains indifferent, none can be slighted. In these not a single unmeaning, or tame, [ 53 ] or even superfluous stroke of the graver can remain con- cealed, or can become perceptible without immediately offending the eye, and producing deformity. Of this species of engraving, consequently, no part can be executed mechanically, or by inferior hands. Every stroke here requires an artist skilled in drawing, and uniting with the most correct eye the most free and mas- terly touch. Hence many artists, deservedly applauded in shadowed engraving, would appear very contemptible in engraving in mere outline ; and this probably is one of the reasons why, among the great number of copper- plate engravers employed on different works, I have found so few willing or able to engage in mine — a cir- cumstance which has not a little encreased my difficulties in its completion. THE END. Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. Cleveland-row, St. James's. '- ■ ■ a ■ ■ ■ Drdjvn iy XS. ■ ■ v - > ■■■.-■.■■-- '.,- .■•/ Jama (aua'trtj t.*a ly 'J U . s^\ J3%VU4 ///■ / j /'<- ,*#<« j/u-a /kfd lea/fiei l>*//j i&trhs . Jjratrn 6y J'. H Engraved, l>y R Strife 10 Dm*/! by T. K t ' fyllJ&ri? // —J/act#s/L . 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