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Glamour in Ancient Egypt

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty has transformed throughout the years. Each culture has its own traditions, customs and beauty tips. In Ancient Egypt women were like no other, in specific with beauty. They interpreted beautification in a unique manner. Egyptian women had different, distinctive features in comparison to women from other cultures. In diverse cultures, parts of the body are perhaps purposefully exaggerated in the name of beauty, the effects of which might seem incongruous to those of another culture. For instance, different tribes throughout the world use various methods to extend necks, exaggerate the shape of mouths, ears and even the shape of the head (Rutherford). Ancient Egyptians were influenced by beauty likewise today; beauty is one of the most influential aspects to be looked upon. Sometimes, ancient Egyptians did not have particular words that relate to modern and abstract ideas. For example, no specific word pointed out the meaning of art. However, regarding beauty, they developed several terms for definite ideas. To observe or in other words examine beauty, certain words or initials are used; such as “n” and “nfr”. “nfr” is more common (Ronca), it is used in Egyptian names like Nefertiti. Further, verbs emerged from such initials like “snfr”, and this merely means ‘beautifully’. Nfrw, is the masculine form/virgin of the same word, it usually refers to “young men or young people, in one instance, it can even be translated as "recruits" ” (Ronca) The connection that seems to exist between youth and the term nfr may, certainly, be a major hint to understanding the ancient Egyptian concept of beauty. In Egyptian art, the ideal form/shape is a youthful and slim figure. Besides to narrow hips, both standards are presented and included in studies of pharonic mummies. Furthermore, their hips to shoulder proportions are not different from those found in male Egyptian mummies. Even though both sexes are probably portrayed similarly, representations of males are not often like to ideal. As for the skin/body color, it is one of the essential nonliterary descriptions of the ideal form. Men usually are shown with red or reddish-brown skin. Women, however, had paler skin. In Old Kingdom representations, we see women with pinkish white skin (El-Awady). During the Middle and early New Kingdom, their skin is often yellowish. Later in the New Kingdom, the tones returned to pink or light orange. On the contrary, goddesses had yellow or "golden" skin during the New Kingdom. Evidence on how the ancient Egyptians regarded beauty comes from varied sources such as pictorial, sculptures in the round and numerous textual. Much of it declares an exact model of beauty, chiefly in individuals and perhaps even more explicitly in females.

Symmetry is one of the main components in beauty. The bodies of women were tailored to fit within a long rectangle (Borchardt). Their shoulders were of course narrower than the male's and the feet were together or with one slightly advanced. This somehow changed during the Amarna Period. It is also likely that, though royal depictions and even those of common people diverged noticeably during this period imitating a new form of ratified royal beauty. Real beauty is among the concepts that undoubtedly did not change amongst the general population. In fact, the royal bust of Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten (originator of the Amarna Period) was, and is considered to be a classical example of female beauty, in particular; her features were incomparable. Cosmetics and Beauty Regardless of sex and social status, men and women used cosmetics for aesthetic and therapeutic reasons. Oils and unguents (like lotions now) were scrubbed into the skin to protect it from the hot air. In addition, white make-up, black make-up made with carbon, lead sulphide (galena) or manganese oxide (pyrolusite) and green make-up from malachite and additional copper based minerals were frequently used as a tradition (Mahmoud). Red ochre was crushed and mixed with water, then applied to the lips and cheeks; a brush is also used to smear this on. Henna was not only used for painting on the body like now, however, to dye the fingernails yellow and orange as they thought it was healthy. Ancient Egyptians used a type of henna to color their hair and nails. The color and shape of nails designated a woman’s social status.

Kohl

Egyptian women were known for their pretty eyes. Kohl was the most common and essential among all different makeup tools. Both, men and women used it to define their eyes. A small stick is the method for applying kohl. Usually painted on both upper and lower eyelids, in addition to a line extending from the corner of the eye to the sides of the face, and also the eye brows were painted using black kohl. “It was believed that the makeup had magical and even healing powers” (Philippe Walter). Most of the people applied kohl for themselves. However, some other chose to visit a professional makeup artist, referred to at the time as ‘face painter’. Even after death one had to take good care of his/her looks. People believed they had to appear in a good shape and condition so that when the Judgment day comes, they would be presentable and have suitable dress and make-up on. “A man says this speech when he is pure, clean, dressed in fresh clothes, shod in white sandals, painted with eye-paint, anointed with the finest oil of myrrh.” Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead Hair Thick hair was the most favored in Ancient Egypt. Although some women kept their own original hair, others of a higher status shaved their whole head and body for hygienic reasons to prevent infestations with lice. Besides, it was more comfortable and relaxing in the hot summer climate to shave the head. Nevertheless, some of those who did not shave their heads wore wigs. Wigs were dyed in colors such as gold, blond, green, however, with no doubt, black was the ultimate favorite. Wigs were constructed out of human and animal hair. An average wig had 300 strands (Riordan). Strands were kept in place by pomade that is made of wax. Wigs also had an odor; they were regularly scented with perfumes. As for the division of hair, three sections gave the perfect look with one on the right, one on the left and the third down the back in order to have a symmetrical shape. Jewelry As commonly believed by Ancient Egyptians, Jewelry had magical and spiritual properties and was said to be a protection for anyone who wears it. Metals and minerals used in the jewelry were not randomly chosen. In fact, they identified with specific divinities or with particular spiritual and therapeutic standards. Diverse minerals were used in making jewelry, such as cornelian, amethyst, onyx, jasper and quartz crystal. (Scollins). The classification of these stones was never clear, no one is sure of how precious each one was. However, the connection between the economic value and availability of stones was recognizable. Another invention was glass. Such discovery was also used in making jewelry. The construction of glass beads by the Ancient Egyptians and their integration into jewelry became an art in itself. The glass beads were very fashionable and superbly finalized that the distinction between the imitation and genuine pearls, emeralds and tigers-eye was challenging.

Clothing In contrast to the modern western world, women's clothing in Ancient Egypt was more conservative than that of men. The most commonly used custom costume for women during the Old, Middle and New Kingdom was the plain, simple sheath dress-like. That was basically a rectangular piece of cloth, folded once and sewn down the edge to make a tube shape. “The dress would extend from a few inches above the ankles to either just above or just below the breasts” (Mahmoud). The dress was also held up by two straps. Scented cone A very common tradition in feasts and dinners was placing  a solid perfumed oil above the guests’ heads. This cone was usually made out of ox tallow and myrrh (El-Awady). It was designed to stay till the evening drawns, as that is when it starts to melt, making the guests cool down and smell pleasant. Men and women in feasts got along with each other and socialized while eating. During eating, they sit as couples, each couple sat opposite to each other. tables were piled high with diverse types of food. Guests wore robes folded or pleated vertically. In regards to servents, they wore a thin belt on their waists and their collars were brightly decorated.

Works Cited http://www.onislam.net/english/culture-and-entertainment/history/412849-ancient-egyptian-beauty-secrets.html El-Awady, Aisha. "Ancient Egyptian Beauty Secrets." - History. Onislam, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. http://www.planet-science.com/categories/over-11s/technology/2011/08/beauty-tips-from-ancient-egypt.aspx Mahmoud, Zara. "Beauty Tips from Ancient Egypt : Archaeologists Make an Exciting Discovery." Planet Science. NESTA, 13 May 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women's%20clothing.htm Riordan, Rick. "WOMEN'S CLOTHING AND FASHION IN ANCIENT EGYPT." New Page 2. Planet Science, 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-makeup/5-ancient-egyptian-cosmetics.htm Ronca, Debra and Water, Philippe. "5 Ancient Egyptian Cosmetics - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks. InfospaceLLC, 8 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014 http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/beauty.htm Rutherford, Maggie. "The Ancient Egyptian Concept of Beauty." Tour Egypt. Aphrodite, 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. http://purchasereq.tripod.com/id9.html Scollins. "Ancient Egypt Hair and Beauty." Ancient Egypt. TriPod, 17 June 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. Faulk Raymond O., Ogden Goelet, Eva Von Dassow, and James Wasserman. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: Being the Papyrus of Ani (royal Scribe of the Divine Offerings), Written and Illustrated circa 1250 B.C.E., by Scribes and Artists Unknown, including the Balance of Chapters of the Books of the Dead Known as the Theban Recension, Compiled from Ancient Texts, Dating Back to the Roots of Egyptian Civilization. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1994. Print.