The long garments of Noah and his sons in the toy Noah’s Ark are worthy of mention and are an interesting survival.
The wrappings that were placed round mummies in ancient Egypt are shown on figures which were found in the tombs, and which are often seen as curiosities in this country. They were carved out of wood or modelled out of clay, while some of them were made out of the well-known glazed faïence. They were put into the tombs in order that they might do the work of the deceased in his after life, and their origin is exceedingly interesting. Many barbarous nations have in the past sacrificed the servants of a chief at his funeral, and the Egyptians, who were humane people, contented themselves with a make-believe, and replaced the actual persons with the figures that we call “ushabti,” or, in modern parlance, “shabbies.”
[XXVIII]
THE CLOWN AND PAINTING THE BODY
THE CLOWN’S DRESS—SAVAGE PAINTING AND SURVIVALS OF IT—TATTOOING—PATCHES AND FALSE COMPLEXIONS—MASKS
No costume is perhaps more characteristic or better known than that of the clown; and it is of special interest, for while the hat was fashionable at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the dress, generally speaking, is a caricature of that which was in vogue in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The same remarks apply to the method of hair-dressing, and we shall see, when dealing with the other characters that appear in the harlequinade, that the pantaloon in his dress illustrates that of the same time in our history.
Unlike the other heroes of the pantomime, the clown is essentially English, and he is to be found also in the circus of to-day, at all times of the year, as well as on the stage at Christmas.
As to the clown’s clothes, first of all there is the ruff, which is, however, not stiffened out. He has trunk hose or wide breeches which do not reach to his knee, his stockings are well ornamented with clocks; and lastly, there is the paint on his face, which brings us to a custom that seems nearly as old as man himself. (See Figure [157] and Plate [X], Figure [A].)