Whilst seemingly simple garments such as the tunic remained staples of the classical wardrobe, sources from the period reveal a rich variety of changing styles and attitudes to clothing across the ancient world. Covering the period 500 BCE to 800 CE and drawing on sources ranging from extant garments and architectural iconography to official edicts and literature, this volume reveals Antiquity’s preoccupation with dress, which was matched by an appreciation of the processes of production rarely seen in later periods.
From a courtesan’s sheer faux-silk garb to the sumptuous purple dyes of an emperor’s finery, clothing was as much a marker of status and personal expression as it was a site of social control and anxiety. Contemporary commentators expressed alarm in equal measure at the over-dressed, the excessively ascetic or at ‘barbarian’ silhouettes.
Richly illustrated with 100 images, A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in Antiquity presents an overview of the period with essays on textiles, production and distribution, the body, belief, gender and sexuality, status, ethnicity, visual representations, and literary representations.
Edited by:
Professor Mary Harlow (University of Leicester UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 244mm,
Width: 169mm,
Weight: 480g
ISBN: 9781350204720
ISBN 10: 1350204722
Series: The Cultural Histories Series
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 15 April 2021
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Illustrations Introduction Mary Harlow (University of Leicester, UK) Chapter 1 – Textiles Eva Andersson Strand (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ulla Mannering (National Museum of Denmark) Chapter 2 – Production and Distribution Kerstin Droß-Krüpe (University of Kassel, Germany) Chapter 3 – The Body Glenys Davies (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (Cardiff University, UK) Chapter 4 – Belief Carly Daniel Hughes (Concordia University, Canada) Chapter 5 – Gender and Sexuality Glenys Davies (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (Cardiff University, UK) Chapter 6 – Status Kelly Olson (Western University, Canada) Chapter 7 – Ethnicity Ursula Rothe (Open University, UK) Chapter 8 – Visual Representations Lena Larsson Lovén (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) Chapter 9 – Literary Representations Mary Harlow (University of Leicester, UK) Notes Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index
Mary Harlow is Honorary Associate Professor of Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK.
