Figure 1.--

The flax plant was extensuvely used for the production of linen in Egypt and other ancient civilizations and is still used today. The Egyptians used linnen for bed sheets, diappers, sails, and even wrapped their mummies in linen. White linnen was a symbol of divine light and purity and associated with the mother goddess Isis. All ancient Egyptians, rich or poor, male or female, wore linen clothing. The lists of offerings in tombs almost always mentions linen as something that the deceased would need in the next world.

Flax

The flax plant was extensuvely used for the production of linen in Egypt and other ancient civilizations and is still used today. One of the earlist plants used in the manufacture of clothing is flax. The flax plant is associate with the dawn of civilization where is was cultivated as a crop for food and fiber. The flax plant has very small leaves, blue flowers and stems about 0.5 meters tall. The Egyptians pulled out of the ground, not cut. The backbreaking labor was done mostly by men. Half-ripe flax stems made the best thread. If the stems were too ripe, they were used for mats and rope. Flax stems were soaked for several days. The fibers were separated and then beaten until soft. The spinner would attach flax fibers to the spindle which would then twisted into strong thread. The actual weaving of linen fabric was done on a loom. A loom is a frame made of two beams held by four pegs in the ground. White linen needed constant washing. It was washed in the river or canal, rinsed, then pounded on a stone, and, bleached in the sun.

Linen

Linen is the fabric wove from flax threads. Linen was widely used for clothing throughout the ancient world. It was the primary plant used to produce textile and clothing in Egypt. Linen fabric was widely used as clothing by all classes of Egyptian socity. The cultivation of cotton first ciltivated in India comes at a much later period in Egyptian history.

Uses

The Egyptians used linnen for bed sheets, diappers, sails, and even wrapped their mummies in linen.

Religious Symbolism

White linnen was a symbol of divine light and purity and associated with the mother goddess Isis. Surviving Egyptian religious writings almost always mentions linen as something that the dead would require in his new life in the next world.

Social Factors

Ancient Egyptians of all social classes including both men an women wore linen clothing. Social differences in almost all cultures aredmonstrated by clothing. As linen was worn by poor and rich alike, status differences were relected in the quality of the fabric. The luxurious linen garments worn by Egyptian roylty and nobels was a very fine, almost diaphanous quality. It was of a quality much softer and whiter than worn by the common people. Finishing like pleat and fringe are also indicators of status.

Children

We know of no specific garments wor by children. Given the warm climate. Children often never wore any clothing at all especially during the heat of the day. This would have been especially true of childen from poor families. There have been children's garments found in tombs. One such garment had sleeves which could be easily put on or taken off, depending on seasonal weather changes.

Linen Craft

Producing linnen cloth from flax is a complicated process. Considerable skill is needed to take flax stems and turn them into finished linen fabric. This craft was developed in Egypt before recorded history.

Archeology

Archeology is a relatively recent discipline, developing only in the lte 19th century. The primary focus of archeologists in the late 19th century through the mid-20th cenury was some of the more valuaable gold or atifacts, including gold and ottery. Of reltively little interet were textiles. One problem with textiles is that they often do not survive. Textiles provide a great deal ofinformation about both culture and technology and modern archeologists are much more intersted in textiles than earlier archeologists. Egytiologists are now very interested both textile production and the garments worn by the ancient Egyptians.

Color

Most Egyptians did not wear coloful clothing. The linen garments that Egyptians were almost always white or an off-white. Linen is a natural off-white color. A more true white can be obtained by blaching. The Egyptians used a sun bleaching process. The degree of whiteness was a reflection of social status. The finest quality garments were made from white linen. For rich and poor alike, white was the primary color. Archeologists have found garments with colored threads, usually employed to make stripes. Such garments would have been worn by high-status individuals. The Paroph and his family would have worn not only very white garments, but also garments with colorful woven patterns and colorful embroidery. The very limited archeological evidence concerning textiles limits our full understanding of the use of color in Egypt. The use of color by the Egyptians may be more common than commonly perceived.

Finishing

The Egyptians added style to their garments through the use of pleats and fringes. Clothing was also decorated with beadwork and colorful leather.

Garments

Much of what we know about the garments worn by the ancient Egyptians comes from the art work in tombs and sculptures and reliefs in temples and other remains. In Egypt's warm tropical climate, people wore light-weight clothing. Men in Egyptian art are depicted in kilts. Women are shown in tight-fitting, sleeve-less dresses. Archeologists speculate that these art images may be the formal dress of the Egyptian elite--who would be the most likely to have been represented in art. The limited finds of clothing in tombs are garments more similar to modern Egyptian clothing.

Robes

Garments have been found that look much like the long loose sleeved robe called a "galabiyya".

Dresses

The tight dresses depicted in Egyptian art certainly do not appear to have been practical garments--one wonders how women could have sat down or even walked.

Cloaks

While the Egyptian climate is very warm, it does get cool at night. Thus some warmmer garments would have been needed. These garments, however, are not commonly rpresented in Egyptian art and thus little is known about them. The affluent worn woolen cloaks for warmth.

Kilts

Egyptian art normally depicts men wearing short, almost always white kilts. These kilts were worn for formal occassions, but also appear to be part of the actual wardrobe. They are often shoen as heavily pleated. As pleating require more cloth and more maintenance, this can also be taken as a sign of status. No one knows how the Egyptians pleated their kilts. Some speculate that they folded the kilt accordion style and then tied, and wetted it--producing pleats. Another suggestion is that the kilts were pressed onto wooden boards that had furrows. A glue substance could have been painted on the cloth to help hold the pleats.

Artistic Depictions

Some caution must be exercised in using paintings and sculptures to determine what clothing aincient Egyptians wore. We note many images of Egyptian women wearing knee-hobling skirts. This appears to be an artistic convention that was largely fiction. Women could not walk in such skirts, especially given the fact that linen has little ability to streach. Actual dresses recovered from tombs are "baggy tubes with shoulder straps" nd not the tight-fitting skirts depicted. [Stewart, p. 78.]

Sources

Stewart, Doug. "Eternal Egypt," Smithsonian, date missing, pp. 74-84.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[Ancient civilizations] [The mid-17th century] [The 1840s] [The 1860s] [The 1900s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s]
[The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s] [The 1990s] [The 2000s]

Created: November 9, 2002
Last updated: June 17, 2003