Museum of Antiquity: A Description of Ancient LifeYaggy, L. W. (Levi W.)
History
Museum of Antiquity: A Description of Ancient Life
Yaggy, L. W. (Levi W.)
Civilization, Ancient; Classical antiquities
The female dress consisted of one or more tunics, with an upper
garment, called _stola_, which superseded the toga, originally worn by
women as well as men. The stola is said to have been a more ample and
ornamented sort of tunic. The tunic worn by women does not seem to
have differed from that worn by men, except that it reached to the
feet. Above the stola, women wore a mantle called palla or pallium.
This is said to have been thrown across the shoulders, the right end
being gathered up and thrown over the left shoulder, leaving nothing
but the right hand visible.
[Illustration: CUPS AND METALS.]
Some minute speculations relative to one article in female dress have
been based on a statue from Herculaneum, in which a Neapolitan
antiquary thinks that he has discovered the nature and construction of
that compound garment called the tunico-pallium, in which the
appearance and uses of the tunic and mantle were united. It is the
statue of a woman employed in buckling her dress over the right
shoulder, having already fastened it on the left, in such a manner as
to leave the arm bare.
Numerous articles of female ornament have been found, of which we have
collected a few into one block. They are drawn of the same size as the
originals. The lower corners of the cut represent ear-rings, seen in
front and sideways. It is a portion of a plain gold spheroid, very
thick, with a metal hook at the back to pass through the ear. The next
is of simpler construction, having pearl pendants. Both these patterns
seem to have been very common. The upper right-hand corner of the cut
represents a breast-pin, attached to a Bacchanalian figure, with a
patera in one hand and a glass in the other. He is provided with bat's
wings, and two belts, or bands of grapes, pass across his body. The
bat's wings symbolize the drowsiness consequent upon hard drinking.
There are also represented gold rings with serpent's heads, the eyes
of which are inlaid with beautiful stones and diamonds; also bracelets
of this pattern were very common.
[Illustration: GOLD JEWELRY (_From Pompeii_)]
A beautiful gold necklace was also found, of which a cut is
represented in the above plate. It was very elaborate and exquisite.
Ornamental safety-pins were also found, as shown in following cuts.
Lockets were also found, indicating religious subjects of later date.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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