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Late Roman female fashions
#1
Salvete,

Could anyone point me in the right direction to find reconstructions of late Roman female clothing? We (my wife and I) will be attending an event later in the year that is themed around life in a late Roman villa.

We have the male/military dress sorted, but have yet to find female sources.

As first century reenactors, all help would be appreciated!
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#2
If you want a book, get A. Croom: Roman Clothing and Fashion. It goes into the 400s and is quite detailed.

I have some pictures, but I'm afraid I can't find them online. IIRC there is one image from Piazza Armerina that is very valuable.

Generally, you'll want a long, wide tunic much like the earlier type. They're often coloured, with contrasting clavi, and have wide or flaring sleeves (frequently referred to as dalmatics), though you also still see the narrow-sleeved type. I recall several cases of women shown just in those tunics and overtunics, though wraparound mantles are also in evidence.

What exactly is it your wife wants to represent?
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!

Volker Bach
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#3
Thank you Volker.

The portrayal is going to be a matron of middle to high status in Roman Britain during the fourth century.
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#4
There are some nice dresses on the paitings of Dura Europos...ok, thats definetly oriental style, but useful.

In fact a "matron" was recognized because her head was covered by a veil.
A "stola" did not exist any longer after the 1st cent.AD.

Its mostly a subtunica and a tunica worn. The subtunice was mostly from linen, the tunica above from wole or silk.
Susanna

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.musica-romana.de">www.musica-romana.de

A Lyra is basically an instrument to accompaign pyromanic city destruction.
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#5
Don't forget to post pics of you in the event Peroni!!!
[Image: 120px-Septimani_seniores_shield_pattern.svg.png] [Image: Estalada.gif]
Ivan Perelló
[size=150:iu1l6t4o]Credo in Spatham, Corvus sum bellorum[/size]
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#6
Ave Barbara,

great work! Big Grin
Greetings from germania incognita

Heiko (Cornelius Quintus)

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
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#7
Very good - I'll start on a Chiton for my daughter soon!
Laudes awarded, of course.
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
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#8
Quote:Than you can look at my avatar: It is taken out of the Stilicho-Dyptichon and shows Serena, Stilichos wife. She is wearing a thight-armed undertunica, a chiton (both belted under the breast) and above a palla (the short late-roman one). It is an ivory-carving, maybe that there were no clavi on the clothing, maybe that they just were not shown.

Hello Barbara.

It is possible that Serena's tunic does have clavii. Faint paralell lines are visible over her left knee which might indicate this. If you can not see the originals perhaps a good quality photograph might help. I spotted the swastika interlaced pattern on the upper right clavi of Stilcho in the same dyptych and included that in the reconstruction used in Roman Military Clothing 3. As far as I know no one else had seen that before or at least included it in any reconstructions that I had seen previously.


I have seen a number of reconstructed women's costume worn by late Roman re-enactors over her in the UK. However none of them appear to look like the sources illustrated here, most seem to have bare arms for example and undecorated tunics. I would like to know your opinion on this.

Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.

"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.

"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
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#9
Awesome barbara, This is a great help! Big Grin D

Laudes point on its way to you!
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#10
great job Barbara!!!!!!!

is excellent!!!
I'll make tunics for my new court. But do you think that the tunics in the 5th century are to similar than the 6th century? ( Approximately);
What do you think about the tunics of the Galla Placidia court in Archeon?
I have worked from Theodora's mosaics.
Smile P )
Carme
[url:utwukq64]http://www.primagermanica.com[/url]
[Image: vexilium.jpg]
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#11
Like this picture... more or less

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/Picts/red_shoes.gif
Carme
[url:utwukq64]http://www.primagermanica.com[/url]
[Image: vexilium.jpg]
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#12
Attendants and empress Theodora

http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/images/PLATE10CX.JPG
Carme
[url:utwukq64]http://www.primagermanica.com[/url]
[Image: vexilium.jpg]
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#13
Women in Late Antiquity
aristocratic family:


[Image: Armerwife.jpg]
Carme
[url:utwukq64]http://www.primagermanica.com[/url]
[Image: vexilium.jpg]
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#14
Hello Galla!

Well, I didn't have a close look to the mid-5th century imperial clothing. But the tunicas you and your accompagnists were wearing seem to me to be a little bit late - more tending to the 6th century, and as you've said, like theodora. I don't know if there were rectangular necklines in the 5th century and I have not seen these veils your attendants are wearing before. As a cloak, okay, but as a veil? Most women did wear a seperate very thin veil to show that they are christians (will be mentioned in part three, Orantic style), and the imperial mosaics show all the accompagnists unveiled. For sacrificium or any other holy happening you would turn your cloak over your head, shure.

What can be seen on the pictures (esp. The Ravenna mosaic from San Vitale wich is the source for all the paintings) is that the empress has clavi on her tunica like the men's ones, with this small orbiculum above the pointing. So it seems to be an oversized (and much more decorated) men's tunic. And some of the other women have orbiculi on their tunicas, too. I have not seen this earlier than 6th century, but I'm waiting for the dating of another picture with women wearing tunicas with orbiculi (and these women are musicians, so in some way outlaws, too... :wink: )

In the mosaics of San Appollinare Nuovo at Ravenna you can seperate the pictures of women in two parts: the theodorician mosaics (500-520 or so) show all the women with clavi (chiton-style, like I've mentioned before), none of them wears a tunica with another decoration, and the later mosaics that were made at 550 show the martyr women with a completely different style - but the holy Mary is still wearing a clavi-decoated tunica (with wristclavi, too)
The mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome show a scene with the pharao's daughter and Moses (a child of 10 years or so) and the attendands of the pharao's daughter, and they all are wearing this clavi-tunicas, too. The mosaic is dated to 430-440. Unfortunately I have no sharp picture of it, but I'll have a look for it.

I think the pectorale should be a little tighter, like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... acidia.JPG
This gold medallion shows Galla, I think you know it.

Nevertheless it is a very impressing personation what you and your attendants are doing, and I haven't seen one like this ever before!
BAR-BAR-A

Barbara Köstner
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#15
Barbara / Carme

The followings books will be useful for the study of Late Roman female fashions and accessories

'Late Roman Painting'; W. Dorigo. Milan. 1966, or ed..London. 1970.
'The Unknown Catacomb'; A. Ferrua. New Lanark. 1990
'Au Fil du Nil'; Musee Dobree, 2001.
'The Clothed Body in the Ancient World'; ed Cleland, Harlow and LLoyd Llewellyn-Jones. Oxford 2005

The last two should still be available to buy and are invaluable, the other two would require a University Library.


A little out of date, especially with regards to early imperial military but
Mary Houston's classic work 'Ancient GreekRoman and Byzantine Costume and Decoration'; second edition, London. 1947. still has a lot of basic information. (A new edition was published in 2003)

Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.

"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.

"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
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