Ancient Egyptian clothes

Flax is the main material of clothes. Men wear skirts, topless, or short-sleeved T-shirts or robes. The most typical dress is sleeveless dress.

Due to the poor preservation of village ruins and even tombs, few clothes are left. The material of ancient Egyptian clothes was mainly linen. Leading elites usually only wear thin white linen shirts, but at that time, materials ranged from cheap coarse cloth to the most advanced transparent cloth. Men wear skirts, sometimes with shorts, topless, or short-sleeved T-shirts or robes. The most typical dress for women is a sleeveless dress, which is traditionally called "Karasis". During the New Kingdom period, the traditional simple style was gradually replaced by more gorgeous dress suits, and decorated with discounted lace, which reflected the wealth and luxury at that time. Although dyeing technology is almost as old as weaving and can be traced back to the pre-dynasty period, dyed clothes are only worn by foreigners, kings, royalty and gods. Whether ordinary people wear shoes or not has not been answered yet. It seems that only rich people can afford sandals.

In the ancient kingdom, women's clothing was a kind of clothes called "Nugebai". This is a tight dress with a simple style. Wear it from the chest to the heel, and tie it with a cloth belt under the chest. Generally, there are one or two suspenders fixed with buttons at the upper end of the female plaid, and only the female plaid with too narrow and tight body does not need suspenders. After wearing this kind of Nugget white clothes, my shoulders, arms and chest are exposed. If the sling is wide, it may cover the chest.

Nugebai is a common dress for women from all walks of life in ancient Egypt, usually made of linen with good air permeability. At some parties, women often wear headscarves with decorations, such as beads and embroidery. When you wear it, you should wear it on your body from your feet, and then fix it with other supporting slings. You'd better wear a necklace if possible.

At first, men's clothing was limited to hiding shame, and a belt made of plants was tied around their waist, with both ends hanging in front. Later, clothes similar to those worn by women gradually appeared, and they were fixed with belts. Men in ancient Egypt sometimes wore animal skins, and the style depended on people's rank and status.

-The Middle Kingdom period.

Although women still wear Nugebai, the materials and styles have changed, including sleeveless and sleeveless, and the length is the same. Some women don't wear belts on their chests. In addition, shawls have become popular and can cover the chest.

In this period, the men's wear was mainly Nugebai, and robes appeared, usually reaching the heels.

-New Kingdom Period

Women's clothes have changed, not the same anymore. From the colorful paintings on the tomb of Queen Nefertiti in the18th dynasty, we can see that the Queen is wearing Nugebai made of thin white linen, and she is wearing a ribbon on her chest. The ribbon goes from the front to the back and then back to the front to make a bow, and both ends of the bow hang down to her knees. The queen's shawl is bat-shaped, woven with gold thread, decorated with two suspenders and a collar around her neck.

According to textual research, the most distinctive female costume in the New Kingdom period is "sari", which may come from India or eastern Iraq. It is completely different from the clothes of the ancient kingdom and the middle kingdom. Made of long cloth, about 5 meters long and half a meter wide, it is very casual to wear. Women in the New Kingdom prefer this kind of dress, because it is not only convenient to put on and take off, but also symbolizes civilization and progress. Another feature of women's clothing in the new kingdom period is that it is knotted and split on the clothes. Such clothes can make women look more charming and beautiful.

Officials wearing elegant white linen shirts and holding tokens patrol the manor, which may be a portrayal of real life, but carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths and masons all wear white shirts and wigs, obviously to show the wealth of the deceased. The murals and funerary objects in the tomb only reflect the life of the elite in ancient Egypt and their yearning for the afterlife. Only by combining tomb murals with village archaeological excavations can we help to understand the life of ancient Egyptian craftsmen. Sketches on some stone pieces show a more realistic side. The dirty carpenter is full of beard and unkempt hair. The mason was naked except for a belt around his ass. Similar scenes rarely appear on tomb murals.