Dress of common men--Dress of men of the upper classes--
Treatment of the hair and beard--Male ornaments--Supposed
priestly costume--Ordinary dress of women--Arrangement of
their hair--Female ornaments--Necklaces--Bracelets--Ear-
rings--Ornaments for the hair--Toilet pins--Buckles--A
Phoenician lady’s toilet table--Freedom enjoyed by
Phoenician women--Active habits of the men--Curious agate
ornament--Use in furniture of bronze and ivory.
The dress of the Phoenician men, especially of those belonging to the
lower orders, consisted, for the most part, of a single close-fitting
tunic, which reached from the waist to a little above the knee.[0121] The
material was probably either linen or cotton, and the simple garment
was perfectly plain and unornamented, like the common _shenti_ of the
Egyptians. On the head was generally worn a cap of one kind or another,
sometimes round, more often conical, occasionally shaped like a helmet.
The conical head-dresses seem to have often ended in a sort of top-knot
or button, which recalls the head-dress of a Chinese Mandarin.
Where the men were of higher rank, the _shenti_ was ornamented. It was
patterned, and parted towards the two sides, while a richly adorned
lappet, terminating in uræi, fell down in front.[0122] The girdle, from
which it depended, was also patterned, and the _shenti_ thus arranged
was sometimes a not inelegant garment. In addition to the _shenti_, it
was common among the upper classes to wear over the bust and shoulders a
close-fitting tunic with short sleeves,[0123] like a modern “jersey;” and
sometimes two garments were worn, an inner robe descending to the feet,
and an outer blouse or shirt, with sleeves reaching to the elbow.[0124]
Occasionally, instead of this outer blouse, the man of rank has a mantle
thrown over the left shoulder, which falls about him in folds that are
sufficiently graceful.[0125] The conical cap with a top-knot is, with
persons of this class, the almost universal head-dress.
Great attention seems to have been paid to the hair and beard. Where no
cap is worn, the hair clings closely to the head in a wavy compact mass,
escaping however from below the wreath or diadem, which supplies the
place of a cap, in one or two rows of crisp, rounded curls.[0126] The
beard has mostly a strong resemblance to that affected by the Assyrians,
and familiar to us from their sculptures. It is arranged in three, four,
or five rows of small tight curls,[0127] and extends from ear to ear
around the cheeks and chin. Sometimes, however, in lieu of the many
rows, we find one row only, the beard falling in tresses, which are
curled at the extremity.[0128] There is no indication of the Phoenicians
having cultivated mustachios.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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