PEARL SET PINS[ToList]
From the chiton we now pass to the articles of dress of the nature of cloaks. They also show throughout an oblong form, differing in this essentially from the Roman toga. It, belonging to this class, was arranged so that the one corner was thrown over the left shoulder in front, so as to be attached to the body by means of the left arm. On the back the dress was pulled toward the right side so as to cover it completely up to the right shoulder, or, at least, to the armpit, in which latter case the right shoulder remained uncovered. Finally, the himation was again thrown over the left shoulder, so that the ends fell over the back.
Concerning the materials of the described garments, we have mentioned before that linen was used principally by the Ionians, wool by the Dorians; the latter material in the course of time became the rule for male garments all over Greece. The change of seasons naturally required a corresponding modification in the thickness of these woolen garments; accordingly we notice the difference between summer and winter dresses. For women's dresses, besides sheep's wool and linen, byssos, most likely a kind of cotton, was commonly used. Something like the byssos, but much finer, was the material of which the celebrated transparent dresses were woven in the Isle of Amorgos; they consisted of the fibre of a fine sort of flax, undoubtedly resembling our muslins and cambrics. The introduction of silk into Greece is of later date, while in Asia it was known at a very early period. From the interior of Asia the silk was imported into Greece, partly in its raw state, partly worked into dresses. Ready made dresses of this kind differed greatly from the dresses made in Greece of the imported raw silk. The Isle of Kos was the first seat of silk manufacture, where silk dresses were produced rivaling in transparency the above-mentioned. These diaphanous dresses, clinging close to the body, and allowing the color of the skin and the veins to be seen, have been frequently imitated with astonishing skill by Greek sculptors and painters. We only remind the reader of the beautifully modeled folds of the chiton covering the upper part of the body of Niobe's youngest daughter, in a kneeling position, who seeks shelter in the lap of her mother; in painting, several wall-pictures of Pompeii may be cited.
The antiquated notion of white having been the universal color of Greek garments, a colored dress being considered immodest, has been refuted by Becker. It is, however, likely that, with the cloak-like epiblememata, white was the usual color, as is still the case amongst Oriental nations much exposed to the sun. Brown cloaks are, however, by no means unusual; neither were they amongst Greek men. Party-colored Oriental garments were also used, at least by the wealthy Greek classes, both for male and female dresses, while white still remained the favorite color with modest Greek women. This is proved, not to mention written evidence, by a number of small painted statuettes of burnt clay, as also by several pictures on lekythoi from Attic graves. The original colors of the dresses, although (particularly the reds) slightly altered from the burning process, may still be distinctly recognized.
The dresses were frequently adorned with interwoven patterns, or attached borders and embroideries. From Babylon and Phrygia, the ancient seats of the weaving and embroidering arts, these crafts spread over the occidental world, the name "Phrygiones," used in Rome at a later period for artists of this kind, reminding one of this origin. As we learn from the monuments, the simplest border either woven or sewed to the dresses, consisted of one or more dark stripes, either parallel with the seams of the chiton, himation, and ampechonion, or running down to the hem of the chiton from the girdle at the sides or from the throat in front. The vertical ornaments correspond to the Roman clavus. Besides these ornaments in stripes, we also meet with others broader and more complicated; whether woven into, or sewed on, the dress seems doubtful. They cover the chiton from the hem upwards to the knee, and above the girdle up to the neck, as is seen in the chiton worn by the spring goddess Opora, in a vase-painting. The whole chiton is sometimes covered with star or dice patterns, particularly on vases of the archaic style. The vase-painters of the decaying period chiefly represent Phrygian dresses with gold fringes and sumptuous embroideries of palmetto and "meandering" patterns, such as were worn by the luxurious South-Italian Greeks. Such a sumptuous dress is worn by Medea in a picture of the death of Talos on an Apulian amphora in the Jatta collection at Ruvo. In the same picture the chitones of Kastor and Polydeukes, and those of the Argonautai, are covered with palmetto embroideries, the edges at the bottom showing mythological scenes on the dark ground.
STONE SET BROOCHES[ToList]