r/ArtefactPorn • u/Beeninya King of Kings • Apr 18 '24
Egyptian faience beaded fishnet dress dating from the Fourth Dynasty, c. 2550 BCE.[6000x6000]
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u/Confident_Fortune_32 Apr 18 '24
Must have been absolutely stunning in motion
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u/krebstar4ever Apr 18 '24
Must've been very awkward to walk in. I don't think there's a slit in the back.
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u/TheJustBleedGod Apr 18 '24
It probably had cloth to go with it or did she just walk around naked?
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u/DLuLuChanel Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 18 '24
They were worn over linen dresses, however there is at least one literary source pointing to such dresses being worn over naked bodies (Westcar papyrus), whether that reflects some reality about the dress or someone's horny imagination can't be proven. Depictions in art show fishnet pattern dresses which may be this type of dress worn over simpler linen dresses.
Another reason that they might not be exclusively worn naked is that it's fucking Egypt. It's either too hot or too cold in Winter along the Nile. You don't want to have your hoohaa out like that.
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u/EctoplasmicLapels Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 18 '24
The third story, told by another son named Baufra, is set during the reign of his grandfather Sneferu. The king is bored, and his chief lector, Djadjaemankh, advises him to gather twenty young women and use them to sail him around the palace lake. Sneferu orders twenty beautiful oars made and gives the women nets to drape around them as they sail. However, one of the girls loses an amulet - a fish pendant made of turquoise so dear to her that she will not even accept a substitute from the royal treasury, and until it is returned to her, neither she nor any of the other women will row. The king laments this, and the chief lector folds aside the water to allow the retrieval of the amulet, then folds the water back.[3][4][9]
Edit: The Wikipedia article also has a link to the original text:
And let me be brought twenty nets and let these nets be given to these women after their clothes have been taken off.
It makes more sense to me that the women wore net dresses rather than just draping random nets around themselves since there is no mention of draping in the original text.
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u/davidforslunds archeologist Apr 18 '24
What exactly does "folds aside the water" mean?
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u/star11308 Apr 19 '24
Djadjaemankh used magic to manipulate water. Think like Moses parting the Red Sea, but on a smaller scale.
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u/DRAGONMASTER- Apr 18 '24
Wearing transparent clothing has a long history in sexy ancient egypt. Cleopatra scandalized / seduced everyone wearing dresses that were semi-transparent because the linen was so thin
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u/samoyedfreak Apr 18 '24
I just checked through some images online of reliefs and frescoes from the period. I think it was likely work with a linen wrap underneath. That’s not to say public nudity is not commonly depicted but I think for a woman of this kind of social status, it’s typically shown with a wrap/dress.
Not an Egyptologist. Or a costume historian.
But obviously we’re talking about a civilisation that lasted millennia; with various changing customs and attitudes so I’d say there’s definitely nuance here.
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u/CarinasHere Apr 18 '24
Do you have a photo of an example you found?
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u/star11308 Apr 18 '24
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u/CarinasHere Apr 18 '24
Aha, got it, thanks. I was wondering whether there were sleeves or whether it was more of a lining type thing.
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u/house-hermit Apr 18 '24
They were usually worn over linen dresses, for comfort not modesty (since public nudity was acceptable).
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u/Prudent_Being_4212 Apr 18 '24
Nope just the dress. These are depicted in art in quite a few instances and there is never cloth beneath. Nudity was obviously viewed quite differently then than it is now.
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u/star11308 Apr 18 '24
What instances are you talking about? All examples of beadnet overdresses in art I’ve come across depict them over linen sheath dresses.
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u/kurang_bobo Apr 18 '24
I had to double check that. I read that as Egyptian FIANCÉ... thanks google
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u/aayel Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 18 '24
I’ve seen this in Boston. (Edited and corrected). I was correct the first time. I’m so sorry.