Greek dress : $b a study of the costumes worn in ancient Greece, from pre-Hellenic times to the Hellenistic ageAbrahams, Ethel Beatrice
History
Greek dress : $b a study of the costumes worn in ancient Greece, from pre-Hellenic times to the Hellenistic age
Abrahams, Ethel Beatrice
Clothing and dress -- Greece
With regard to the ornamental patterns which adorn the chiton, we
find borders at the feet and at the edge of the overfold, also strips
of ornamentation running round the neck and along the arms and round
the arm-holes, and almost invariably a broad band running vertically
down the front of the lower part of the chiton. In addition to
these strips and borders we also get stars or small floral designs
scattered over the whole garment. The bands which appear at the
edges are easy to understand; they were either woven in the material
of which they were made, or, more probably, embroidered on to it
afterwards; but in those cases where the overfold is worn and a
pattern appears at its edge and also along the neck and arms, we must
suppose that this latter was applied after the sleeves were formed
and the overfold attached. Possibly, also, the vertical band on the
lower part of the chiton represents a separate strip of embroidery
sewn on to the garment. The Greek women probably occupied a large
proportion of their time in embroidery; and since a good piece of
embroidery lasts for very many years, it is quite possible that when
the original garment was worn out, they may have cut off the strip
of still good work, and sewn it on to a new dress. The only other
explanation of the numerous patterns which appear on the statues, is
that the artist simply applied ornamentation wherever it pleased his
fancy to do so; this is less satisfactory than to suppose that he was
representing something which he actually saw.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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