Post by Dawn2Earth on Oct 3, 2010 20:03:21 GMT -5
Kemsi innner mail corselet:
Thread on Slippers:
I think Tutankhamun's colored mail corselet and sandalds:
Thread on Slippers:
I think Tutankhamun's colored mail corselet and sandalds:
Originally posted by Doug M:
[QB] Another example of the elaborate styles of dress that often dont get much coverage from Egypt:
Look closely at the somewhat faded intricate colored mail corselet worn by Amenhotep III.
The remains of a similar type of coreselet was found in tut's tomb:
www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.element&story_id=&module_id=&language_id=1&element_id=60364
Note that these styles of corselets are an excelllent example of the level of sophistication in making stylized scale and chain mail armors for the royalty along with the elaborate helmets that were worn. Many people confuse the fact that the Egyptians portrayed themselves going to war in loincloths as meaning that they actually had no scaled armor of leather or metal. This was not the case, as most of these images were simply traditional, going back to the beginnings of the Egyptian state and had nothing to do with the actual day to day accoutrements of warfare. If they only wore kilts they would have been destroyed way before the 6th dynasty.
Anyway, this type of scaled dress is very old indeed in Egypt and can be seen going back a ways. One good example is the dress of Kemsit from the 12th dynasty. Which, by the way, I also recall seeing in its full color glory in one of the Egyptian picture books I have here at home....
I think it was on the cover of the The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (or History of the World) from the late 80s to early 90s that featured an excellent illustration of Rameses II riding into battle with horses that had colorful plumes, riding gloves, scale armor and the like. Definitely a sight to see and definitely NOT the linen kilt wearing soldier many would expect from Egypt.
A funny thing I have noticed is that many of the picture books offer more undeniably black African images from Egypt than those on the web, whether any color remains or not. I was looking at some of the sculpted reliefs from Karnak and it was amply evident. A good example is the white chapel of senwosret I. Also there are images of tombs that are not often found on the web as well.
More on scale armor and clothing from the ancient world:
98) Thomas Hulit, University of Durham,
Organic Body Armor in the Late Bronze Age Near East
Organic remains in archaeology are often lost due to decomposition, and can lead to large gaps in our understanding of the archaeological record. Organic materials were often used in the manufacture of military equipment, including body armor. Current hypotheses generally suggest that most body armor from the Late Bronze Age was manufactured from bronze, however the author’s recent research suggests that the majority of coats of scale body armor in use in the LBA were made from rawhide. As a biologically active (but inert) material, rawhide rarely survives in the archaeological record, and there is only one known surviving LBA example of rawhide armor; the armor from the tomb of Tut_Ankham_n. In an analysis of the methods of construction of scale body armor, the socio-economic factors governing its use, and the relevant contemporary Near Eastern texts, it appears that as many as 200 coats of organic armor were in use for every one coat of bronze armor. It is also quite likely that the few bronze armor scales found in excavations were from coats of armor made of a composite of both bronze and rawhide scales. Experimental work conducted at H.M. Royal Armories Museum (Leeds) has proven that bronze, rawhide, and composite bronze/rawhide scale armor is quite effective at protecting the wearer from injury.
From: www.asor.org/AM/fridayabs.html
But even with the decay of artifacts, the abundance of imagery from Egypt of persons wearing scale and intricate chain armor suggests that it was much more widespread than what is often suggested in Egypt.
Leather armor of Tutankhamun that presages the leather breastplates worn by the romans:
www.touregypt.net/museum/armorpage.htm [/QB]
[QB] Another example of the elaborate styles of dress that often dont get much coverage from Egypt:
Look closely at the somewhat faded intricate colored mail corselet worn by Amenhotep III.
The remains of a similar type of coreselet was found in tut's tomb:
www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.element&story_id=&module_id=&language_id=1&element_id=60364
Note that these styles of corselets are an excelllent example of the level of sophistication in making stylized scale and chain mail armors for the royalty along with the elaborate helmets that were worn. Many people confuse the fact that the Egyptians portrayed themselves going to war in loincloths as meaning that they actually had no scaled armor of leather or metal. This was not the case, as most of these images were simply traditional, going back to the beginnings of the Egyptian state and had nothing to do with the actual day to day accoutrements of warfare. If they only wore kilts they would have been destroyed way before the 6th dynasty.
Anyway, this type of scaled dress is very old indeed in Egypt and can be seen going back a ways. One good example is the dress of Kemsit from the 12th dynasty. Which, by the way, I also recall seeing in its full color glory in one of the Egyptian picture books I have here at home....
I think it was on the cover of the The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (or History of the World) from the late 80s to early 90s that featured an excellent illustration of Rameses II riding into battle with horses that had colorful plumes, riding gloves, scale armor and the like. Definitely a sight to see and definitely NOT the linen kilt wearing soldier many would expect from Egypt.
A funny thing I have noticed is that many of the picture books offer more undeniably black African images from Egypt than those on the web, whether any color remains or not. I was looking at some of the sculpted reliefs from Karnak and it was amply evident. A good example is the white chapel of senwosret I. Also there are images of tombs that are not often found on the web as well.
More on scale armor and clothing from the ancient world:
98) Thomas Hulit, University of Durham,
Organic Body Armor in the Late Bronze Age Near East
Organic remains in archaeology are often lost due to decomposition, and can lead to large gaps in our understanding of the archaeological record. Organic materials were often used in the manufacture of military equipment, including body armor. Current hypotheses generally suggest that most body armor from the Late Bronze Age was manufactured from bronze, however the author’s recent research suggests that the majority of coats of scale body armor in use in the LBA were made from rawhide. As a biologically active (but inert) material, rawhide rarely survives in the archaeological record, and there is only one known surviving LBA example of rawhide armor; the armor from the tomb of Tut_Ankham_n. In an analysis of the methods of construction of scale body armor, the socio-economic factors governing its use, and the relevant contemporary Near Eastern texts, it appears that as many as 200 coats of organic armor were in use for every one coat of bronze armor. It is also quite likely that the few bronze armor scales found in excavations were from coats of armor made of a composite of both bronze and rawhide scales. Experimental work conducted at H.M. Royal Armories Museum (Leeds) has proven that bronze, rawhide, and composite bronze/rawhide scale armor is quite effective at protecting the wearer from injury.
But even with the decay of artifacts, the abundance of imagery from Egypt of persons wearing scale and intricate chain armor suggests that it was much more widespread than what is often suggested in Egypt.
Leather armor of Tutankhamun that presages the leather breastplates worn by the romans:
www.touregypt.net/museum/armorpage.htm [/QB]
