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A
Since cosmetics and perfumes are still in wide use today, it is interesting to compare the attitudes, customs and beliefs related to them in ancient times to those of our own day and age. Cosmetics and perfumes have been popular since the dawn of civilization; it is shown by the discovery of a great deal of pertinent archaeological material, dating from the third millennium BC. Mosaics, glass perfume flasks, stone vessels, ovens, cooking-pots, clay jars, etc., some inscribed by the hand of the artisan. Evidence also appears in the Bible and other classical writings, where it is written that spices and perfumes were prestigious products known throughout the ancient world and coveted by kings and princes. The written and pictorial descriptions, as well as archaeological findings, all show how important body care and aesthetic appearance were in the lives of the ancient people. The chain of evidence spans many centuries, detailing the usage of cosmetics in various cultures from the earliest period of recorded history.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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B
In antiquity, however, at least in the onset, cosmetics served in religious ceremonies and for healing purposes. Cosmetics were also connected with cultic worship and witchcraft: to appease the various gods, fragrant ointments were applied to the statuary images and even to their attendants. From this, in the course of time, developed the custom of personal use, to enhance the beauty of the face and the body, and to conceal defects.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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C
Perfumes and fragrant spices were precious commodities in antiquity, very much in demand, and at times even exceeded silver and gold in value. Therefore they were luxury products, used mainly in the temples and in the homes of the noble and wealthy. The Judean kings kept them in treasure houses (2 Kings 20:13). And the Queen of Sheba brought to Solomon “camels laden with spices, gold in great quantity and precious stones.” (1 Kings 10:2, 10). However, within time, the use of cosmetics became the custom of that period. The use of cosmetics became widespread among the lower classes as well as among the wealthy; in the same way, they washed the body, so they used to care for the body with substances that softened the skin and anoint it with fragrant oils and ointments.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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D
Facial treatment was highly developed and women devoted many hours to it. They used to spread various scented creams on the face and to apply makeup in vivid and contrasting colors. An Egyptian papyrus from the 16th century BC contains detailed recipes to remove blemishes, wrinkles, and other signs of age. Greek and Roman women would cover their faces in the evening with a “beauty mask” to remove blemishes, which consisted mainly of flour mixed with fragrant spices, leaving it on their face all night. The next morning they would wash it off with asses’ milk. The very common creams used by women in the ancient Far East, particularly important in the hot climate and prevalent in that area of the globe, were made up of oils and aromatic scents. Sometimes the oil in these creams was extracted from olives, almonds, gourds, sesame, or from trees and plants; but, for those of limited means, scented animal and fish fats were commonly used.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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E
Women in the ancient past commonly put colors around their eyes. Besides beautification, its purpose was also medicinal as covering the sensitive skin of the lids with colored ointments that prevented dryness and eye diseases: the eye-paint repelled the little flies that transmitted eye inflammations. Egyptian women colored the upper eyelid black and the lower one green and painted the space between the upper lid and the eyebrow gray and blue. The women of Mesopotamia favored yellows and reds. The use of kohl for painting the eyes is mentioned three times in the Bible, always with disapproval by the sages (2 Kings, 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40). In contrast, Job named one of his daughters “Keren Happukh”- “horn of eye paint” (Job 42:14)
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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F
Great importance was attached to the care for hair in ancient times. Long hair was always considered a symbol of beauty, and kings, nobles and dignitaries grew their hair long and kept it well-groomed and cared for. Women devoted much time to the style of the hair; while no cutting, they would apply much care to it by arranging it skillfully in plaits and “building it up” sometimes with the help of wigs. Egyptian women generally wore their hair flowing down to their shoulders or even longer. In Mesopotamia, women cherished long hair as a part of their beauty, and hair flowing down their backs in a thick plait and tied with a ribbon is seen in art. Assyrian women wore their hair shorter, braiding and binding it in a bun at the back. In Ancient Israel, brides would wear their hair long on the wedding day as a sign of their virginity. Ordinary people and slaves, however, usually wore their hair short, mainly for hygienic reasons, since they could not afford to invest in the kind of treatment that long hair required.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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G
From the Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian sources, as well as the words of classical authors, it appears that the centers of the trade-in aromatic resins and incense were located in the kingdoms of southern Arabia, and even as far as India, where some of these precious aromatic plants were grown. “Dealers from Sheba and Rammah dealt with you, offering the choicest spices…” (Ezekiel 27:22). The Nabateans functioned as the important middlemen in this trade; Palestine also served as a very important component, as the trade routes crisscrossed the country. It is known that the Egyptian Queen Hatsheput (15th century BC) sent a royal expedition to the Land of Punt (Somalia) in order to bring back myrrh seedlings to plant in her temple. In Assyrian records of tribute and spoils of war, perfumes and resins are mentioned; the text from the time of Tukulti-Ninurta II (890-884 BC) refers to balls of myrrh as a part of the tribute brought to the Assyrian king by the Aramaean kings. The trade-in spices and perfumes are also mentioned in the Bible as written in Genesis (37:25-26), “Camels carrying gum tragacanth and balm and myrrh”.
28 recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging
29 perfumes were presented to conquerors in war
30 long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage
31 evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times
32 protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases
33 from witchcraft to beautification
34 more expensive than gold
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A
Paul Nash, the elder son of William Nash and his first wife, Caroline Jackson, was born in London on 11th May 1889. His father was a successful lawyer who became the Recorder of Abingdon. According to Ronald Blythe: “In 1901 the family returned to its native Buckinghamshire, where the garden of Wood Lane House at Iver Heath, and the countryside of the Chiltern Hills, with its sculptural beeches and chalky contours, were early influences on the development of the three children. Their lives were overshadowed by their mother’s mental illness and Nash himself was greatly helped by his nurse who, with some elderly neighbors, introduced him to the universe of plants.”
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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B
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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C
Nash had his first one-man show, of ink and wash drawings, at the Carfax Gallery in 1912. The following year he shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery with his brother, John Nash. Myfanwy Piper has added: “Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation; his pictures were beautifully framed, drawings mounted, his studio precisely and decoratively tidy, and oddments which he collected were worked up into compositions.”
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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D
Paul Nash was strongly attracted to Dora Carrington: He later recalled: “Carrington… was the dominating personality, I got an introduction to her and eventually won her regard by lending her my braces for a fancy-dress party. We were on the top of a bus and she wanted them then and there.”
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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E
On the outbreak Nash considered the possibility of joining the British Army. He told a friend: “I am not keen to rush off and be a soldier. The whole damnable war is too horrible of course and I am all against killing anybody, speaking off-hand, but besides all that I believe both Jack and I might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men, and to that end we are training. Nash enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles. He told Gordon Bottomley: “I have joined the Artists’ London Regiment of Territorials, the old Corps which started with Rossetti, Leighton, and Millais as members in 1860. Every man must do his bit in this horrible business so I have given up painting. There are many nice creatures in my company and I enjoy the burst of exercise – marching, drilling all day in the open air about the pleasant parts of Regents Park and Hampstead Heath.”
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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F
In March 1917 he was sent to the Western Front Nash, who took part in the offensive at Ypres, had reached the rank of lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment by 1916. Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings. This work was well-received when exhibited later that year. As a result of this exhibition, Charles Masterman, head of the government’s War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), and the advice of Edward Marsh and William Rothenstein, it was decided to recruit Nash as a war artist. In November 1917 in the immediate aftermath of the battle of Passchendaele Nash returned to France.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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G
Nash was unhappy with his work as a member of the War Propaganda Bureau. He wrote at the time: “I am no longer an artist. I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on forever. Feeble, inarticulate will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth and may burn their lousy souls.” However, as Myfanwy Piper has pointed out: “The drawings he made then, of shorn trees in ruined and flooded landscapes, were the works that made Nash’s reputation. They were shown at the Leicester Galleries in 1918 together with his first efforts at oil painting, in which he was self-taught and quickly successful, though his drawings made in the field had a more immediate public impact.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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H
In 1919 Nash moved to Dymchurch in Kent, beginning his well-known series of pictures of the sea, the breakwaters, and the long wall that prevents the sea from flooding Romney Marsh. This included the Winter Sea and Dymchurch Steps. Nash also painted the landscapes of the Chiltern Hills. In 1924 and 1928 he had successful exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries. Despite this popular acclaim in 1929, his work became more abstract. In 1933 Nash founded Unit One, the group of experimental painters, sculptors, and architects.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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I
During the Second World War Nash was employed by the Ministry of Information and the Air Ministry and paintings produced by him during this period include the Battle of Britain and Totes Meer. His biographer, Myfanwy Piper, has argued: “This war disturbed Nash but did not change his art as the last one had. His style and his habits were formed, and in the new war, he treated his new subjects as he had treated those he had been thinking about for so long. His late paintings, both oils, and watercolors are alternately brilliant and somber in color with the light of setting suns and rising moons spreading over wooded and hilly landscapes. “Paul Nash died at 35 Boscombe Spa Road, Bournemouth, on 11th July 1946.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
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A
With time, the record-keepers developed systematized symbols from their drawings. These symbols represented words and sentences but were easier and faster to draw and universally recognized for meaning. The discovery of clay made portable records possible (you can’t carry a cave wall around with you). Early merchants used clay tokens with pictographs to record the quantities of materials traded or shipped. These tokens date back to about 8,500 B.C. With the high volume and the repetition inherent in record keeping, pictographs evolved and slowly lost their picture detail. They became abstract figures representing sounds in spoken communication. The alphabet replaced pictographs between 1700 and 1500 B.C. in the Sinaitic world. The current Hebrew alphabet and writing became popular around 600 B.C. About 400 B.C. the Greek alphabet was developed. Greek was the first script written from left to right. From Greek followed the Byzantine and the Roman (later Latin) writings. In the beginning, all writing systems had only uppercase letters, when the writing instruments were refined enough for detailed faces, lowercase was used as well (around 600 A.D.)
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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B
The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone, or ivory, to placemarks upon wax-coated tablets. The tablets are made in hinged pairs, closed to protect the scribe’s notes. The first examples of handwriting (purely text messages made by hand) originated in Greece. The Grecian scholar, Cadmus invented the written letter – text messages on paper sent from one individual to another.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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C
Writing was advancing beyond chiselling pictures into stone or wedging pictographs into wet clay. The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk. The ink invented by the Chinese philosopher, Tien-Lcheu (2697 B.C.), became common by the year 1200 B.C. Other cultures developed inks using natural dyes and colours derived from berries, plants, and minerals. In early writings, different coloured inks had ritual meanings attached to each colour.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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D
The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of the paper. The early Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Hebrews, used papyrus and parchment papers. One of the oldest pieces of writing on papyrus known to us today is the Egyptian “Prisse Papyrus” which dates back to 2000 B.C. The Romans created a reed-pen perfect for parchment and ink, from the hollow tubular stems of marsh grasses, especially from the jointed bamboo plant. They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of a fountain pen. They cut one end into the form of a pen nib or point. A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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E
By 400 A.D. a stable form of ink developed, a composite of iron salts, nutgalls, and gum, the basic formula, which was to remain in use for centuries. Its colour when first applied to paper was a bluish-black, rapidly turning into a darker black and then over the years fading to the familiar dull brown colour commonly seen in old documents. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D. but it only became known about (due to Chinese secrecy) in Japan around 700 A.D. and was brought to Spain by the Arabs in 711 A.D. Paper was not widely used throughout Europe until paper mills were built in the late 14th century
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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F
The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over one thousand years) was the quill pen. Introduced around 700 A.D., the quill is a pen made from a bird feather. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favoured because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk, and turkey.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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G
There were also disadvantages associated with the use of quill pens, including a lengthy preparation time. The early European writing parchments made from animal skins required much scraping and cleaning. A lead and a ruler made margins. To sharpen the quill, the writer needed a special knife (origins of the term “pen-knife”.) Beneath the writer’s high-top desk was a coal stove, used to dry the ink as fast as possible.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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H
Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436. Simpler kinds of printing e.g. stamps with names used much earlier in China, did not find their way to Europe. During the centuries, many newer printing technologies were developed based on Gutenberg’s printing machine e.g. offset printing.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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I
Articles written by hand had resembled printed letters until scholars began to change the form of writing, using capitals and small letters, writing with more of a slant and connecting letters. Gradually writing became more suitable to the speed the new writing instruments permitted. The credit of inventing Italian ‘running hand’ or cursive handwriting with its Roman capitals and small letters, goes to Aldus Manutius of Venice, who departed from the old set forms in 1495 A.D. By the end of the 16th century, the old Roman capitals and Greek letterforms transformed into the twenty-six alphabet letters we know today, both for upper and lower-case letters. When writers had both better inks and paper, and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument, leading to the development of the modern fountain pens
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
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28D
29G
30F
31A
32E
33B
34C
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5D
6B
7I
8E
9A
10C
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17D
18F
19C
20A
21B
22D
23B
