Turning to the himation or mantle worn over the chiton, the simplest method of producing the effect seen in the Acropolis statues was found by experiment to be by taking a piece of material between 5 and 6 yards long and about 18 or 20 inches wide. This was folded double, as in the diagram at the point a, so that the points b and b′ met. Then at the points c and c′, at equal distances from the corners, and cutting off at little less than one-third of the wide length of the stuff, the two upper edges were fastened together on the model’s right shoulder, a few pleats or gathers being taken in the material on each side. A series of such fastenings was made along the upper arm, as far as the points d and d′, which reached to the model’s elbow; the rest of the stuff, as far as the points b and b′, was allowed to hang down from the elbow. The part of the material c to c′ passed under the left arm and was arranged in a series of regular oblique folds running parallel to the box-pleat, which formed itself naturally at the first fastening on the shoulder—that is to say, at the points c and c′; these folds were held in place by a band passing under the left breast, drawn rather tightly round the figure and secured firmly on the right shoulder. In order to make the lower edge of the cloak rise in the middle, as it does invariably in the statues, it was found necessary to draw the folds up over the band and let the upper edge fall over, forming a kind of frill. The frill, however, hung down too low, and it was this fact that suggested cutting the upper edge of the cloak out in a curve, or rather in two curves, one at the back and one at the front, leaving the part under the left arm longer than that in front and behind. When these curves were cut out and the garment once more arranged in its pleats, the little frill-like edge hung of itself over the band, just in the way in which it appears in some of the statues. The band alone held the folds fairly well in place; but in order to prevent the possibility of their slipping, the Athenian ladies probably had them stitched on to the band. It would be quite easy to slip the garment on and off over the head without even unfastening it on the shoulder.[137]
Fig. 34.—Drapery in the Style of the Archaic Statues in the Acropolis Museum, Athens.
[Face page 91.
The variations in detail which appear in the different statues can easily be produced by arranging the folds in a slightly different fashion. In some cases, as for example in No. 674 (Lechat, pl. 1), the folds hang quite upright instead of obliquely, and the box-pleat appears in the middle instead of hanging from the shoulder; this can easily be produced by turning the folds first in one direction and then in the opposite. The folds of the frill sometimes hang in the opposite direction to those of the main part of the mantle; this is simply a mistake on the part of the artist. Occasionally the frill does not appear at all, for example in No. 686 (Lechat, fig. 37), but the cloak hangs straight down from the broad band. In this instance we must suppose that the overhanging mass of material has been cut away entirely before the folds were attached to the band.
Sometimes the two ends were sewn together along the lines be and b′e′, and in this case the last fastening, indicated by the letters d and d′, approached nearer to the points b and b′, so as to leave an opening only sufficient for the arm to pass through.
The detail of the cloak which presents most variety is the little frill-like edge which falls over the band. Sometimes it appears to be a natural continuation of the vertical folds which hang down below it, and it falls over the band so as almost to hide it; sometimes it is shorter, and reveals the band and forms a sort of leaf-like pattern above it; in other cases it disappears entirely. Its most realistic representation is in one of the Victories in the Acropolis Museum, where the corners c and c′, formed by cutting the curves, are actually indicated on the shoulder, and the frill lies in an irregular zigzag, almost exactly as it was found to fall in practice.
In two cases in the Acropolis Museum at Athens, and in a statue at Delphi, the band does not pass under the arm, but from shoulder to shoulder, and the cloak covers both arms symmetrically, being fastened down both alike with a series of brooches. In these cases the box-pleat falls in the middle, and the curve must necessarily have been considerably smaller, since the upper edge lies much higher up towards the neck. When the cloak was worn in this way, it was probably sewn up down both sides, and the curves for the neck, back and front, were naturally equidistant from the two side-seams. The openings for the arms would come at the ends of the top edge, as in the case of the Ionic chiton.
Fig. 35.—Vase-painting—British Museum.