Kaunakes

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Statue of Iku-Shamagan, King of Mari, wearing the Kaunakes. c. 2500 BCE.

A kaunakes

Persia
. It was woven in a tufted pattern suggesting overlapping petals or feathers, either by sewing tufts onto the garment or by weaving loops into the fabric.

Background

The origin of this dress is traced to the Sumerian civilization which existed even before 4,000 BC.

Pre-Dynastic period (4000-2700 BC): kilts and "net-dresses"

A kilt or "net-dress" on the Blau Monuments (3000-2900 BC)

The earliest type of dress attested in early

Sumerian art is not the kaunakes, but rather a sort of kilt or "net dress" which is quite closely fitting the lower body, while the upper body remains bare.[6] This early type of net dress looks much more similar to standard textile than the later kaunakes , which looks more like sheepskin with ample bell-shaped volume around the waist and the legs.[6][7]

  • Cylinder seal from Uruk, with "net-dress", 3100 BC
    Cylinder seal from Uruk, with "net-dress", 3100 BC
  • Kilts being worn on the Stele of the lion hunt (3000-2900 BC)
    Kilts being worn on the Stele of the lion hunt (3000-2900 BC)
  • A "net dress" being worn on the Blau Monuments (3000-2900 BC)
    A "net dress" being worn on the Blau Monuments (3000-2900 BC)

Early Dynastic Period (2700-2350 BC): kaunakes

The Early Dynastic Period between 2,700 and 2,350 BC was marked by high culture. The dress was a unisex garment which both men and women wore. The skirt was made from sheepskin and was worn with the skin turned inside and with tufts ornamented like a toothed-comb over the wool. It was used in the form of a wraparound skirt tied and worn from the waist extending to the knees.[8] Servants and soldiers wore the shortest garments, while persons of high status wore longer ones[9] with the skirt often extending down to the ankles. The upper part of the body was either covered with another sheepskin cloak spread across the shoulders, or left bare. It was only around 2,500 BC that the sheepskin garment was replaced by a textile made of woven wool; however the tuft part of the dress was continued in the form of "sewing tufts onto the garment or by weaving loops into the fabric". The Greek called this dress kaunakes. This type of dress is featured in sculptures and mosaics of this period.

History

Votive relief of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, Early Dynastic III (2550–2500 BC), with all figures wearing kaunakes

In a Sumerian image dated between 2,900 and 2,600 BC, the dress was worn as a

Sumerian and Akkadian Mesopotamian region.[11]

It is also believed that kaunakes, as a fashioned fleece, while not mentioned prior to 300 BC could be traced to the 400–300 BC. During the Greek period of

mantle. These were worn during the winter season as a shawl over the shoulders, and during summer adapted as a skirt. Over the centuries many designs evolved with sleeves, then variants were made with cloth instead of fleece, and eventually, it evolved back to a cape sans sleeves.[12]

Female statuette, with cup and bracelet, Khafajah, 2650-2550 BCE

In

Persian Empire in the fifth century BC.[14]

Purpose

An image dated to about 3rd millennium BC from the Temple of

Tell Hariri, in Syria shows kaunakes wrapped as a cloak around the shoulders of an alabaster image of a woman in a seated posture; the kaunakes is inferred as made from goat hair or wool.[15] From 2,450 BC, it was a royal dress, as seen from the figures in prayer mode in Mesopotamia. In this, the dress was formed with woolly tufts laid successively in horizontal lines and suspended vertically. It was fashioned generally as a woman's dress, adorning the left arm and shoulder with the right side exposing the skin and the breast.[16]

References

  1. ^ Sometimes spelled kaunakès, as in French.
  2. ^ "Sedra". sedra.bethmardutho.org. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  3. ^ "The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon". cal.huc.edu. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  4. ^ http://translate.enacademic.com/γαυνάκης/el/[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, Volume 5 (PDF). p. 134.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-136-21911-5
    .
  7. doi:10.3917/assy.110.0001
    .
  8. ^ "Dress". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  9. ^ Tortora & Eubank 2010, p. 24.
  10. ^ "Mesopotamia Review". College of Fine Arts – Illinois State University. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  11. ^ Liñeiro, Mirta. "El traje en el Próximo Oriente antiguo. Mesopotamia. Kaunakes". Reflexión Académica en Diseño y Comunicación Nºxix (in Spanish). Año XIII, Vol. 19, Agosto 2012, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sitio Estudiantes DC – Universidad de Palermo: 57–58. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. ^ Forbes 1971, p. 9.
  13. ^ Miller 2004, p. 154.
  14. ^ Miller 2004, p. 171.
  15. ^ "images". Getty Images. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  16. ^ "A traditional garment worn in an unusual way". Louvre Museum. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

  • Media related to Kaunakes at Wikimedia Commons

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