EGYPT costume inspo: head & hair
We’ve been sharing loads of costume inspiration for our upcoming Isis & Osiris event on May 26th on our social channels (see links at bottom of site) but here’s a little taste for you. You can see loads more on our Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/foxandbadge/fb-202405-isis-osiris We can’t wait to see what you gods and goddesses grace us with on the night!
HEADBANDS
That singularly elegant Egyptian adornment - the HEADBAND.
It’s not unlike that uniquely Egyptian loincloth - that simple strip of fabric that so saucily masks the genitals at the front & butt at the rear, whilst allowing the flanks of the thighs to roam free; a simple strip that augments and reveals as much as it conceals…
The seshed-circlet (ssd or mdh) was originally always combined with the Atef-crown or the Double Feathers.
Its primary function was to bear the uraeus - that deeply distinctive proboscis, the head (not trouser) snake.
Some crowns combine with double or even triple snakes, for extra pleasure Akhenaten innovated a version completely circumscribed by snakes - a kind of orderly medusa.
SNAKES
Speaking of snakes… we love the way their sinews enwrap and delineate ours, and their sensual, erotic embrace of our flesh, whether head or neck, eyes or ears, chest or arms, wrist or ankles, fingers or feet…. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/foxandbadge/fb-202405-isis-osiris/cobras-snakes/
Nehebkau, the primordial snake god, was originally considered evil, but evolved into a powerful, benevolent and protective deity, who judged the deceased after death, and provided their souls with ka.
He was closely associated with the sun god Re, and eventually assumed Re's role as a King of The Sky - quite different to the other snake Apep, who always hid below the horizon in order to wrestle the sun god Ra into darkness and chaos at the end of each day…
HEADSCARVES
Another iconic Egyptian look - the Pharaonic nemes, or striped headscarf, which looks like a kind of avant-garde set of spaniel ears, or an angular pillowcase lodged behind the ears, its large flaps draped over the shoulders, and abstractly represented a lion’s mane; the fantasy of a human merging with an animal. Sometimes the wedge shape is so angular, the head looks like a pyramid.
“Nemes" comes from the ancient Egyptian word "nms," which translates to "royal headdress" or "headcloth." Sometimes a snake uraeus was mounted at the front; sometimes rings at the back, to represent the Pharaoh’s age,
It’s not clear why it was striped, with theories speculating that the alternating graphic represented life and death, or the sun’s rays, or the struggle to create balance (Ma’at) from opposing forces.
You can browse more at https://www.pinterest.co.uk/foxandbadge/fb-202405-isis-osiris/head-scarves/
‘HAIR’STYLES
We celebrate the richness of Ancient Egyptian hair styles.
Or what they pretended was their hair.
The Egyptians believed in cleanliness, and felt that hair could make a person less clean. Most men shaved their faces; priests shaved their entire bodies.
Wealthy men (and women) often shaved their heads, and wore wigs made of human hair, sometimes mixed with plant fibre. The wigs were meticulous and highly detailed, often styled into tight curls and narrow braids, and adorned with beads and ribbons.
Some women even wore 2 wigs - double-layering them.
Humans are so brilliantly inventive!
More at https://www.pinterest.co.uk/foxandbadge/fb-202405-isis-osiris/head-scarves/
