History Of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Vol. 3 — 30 - Ch. 3: Chaldaean Civilization, pt. 3

The walls had to remain bare for the sake of coolness: at the most they were only covered with a coat of white plaster, on which were painted, in one or two colours, some scene of civil or religious life, or troops of fantastic monsters struggling with one another, or men each with a bird seated on his Wrist.

The furniture was not less scanty than the decoration; there were mats on the ground, coffers in which were kept the linen and wearing apparel, low beds inlaid with ivory and metal and provided with coverings and a thin mattress, copper or wooden stands to support lamps or vases, square stools on four legs united by crossbars, armchairs with lions’ claw feet, resembling the Egyptian armchairs in outline, and making us ask if they were brought into Chaldaea by caravans, or made from models which had come from some other country.

A few rare objects of artistic character might be found, which bore witness to a certain taste for elegance and refinement; as, for instance, a kind of circular trough of black stone, probably used to support a vase.

Three rows of imbricated scales surrounded the base of this, while seven small sitting figures lean back against the upper part with an air of satisfaction which is most cleverly rendered.

The decoration of the larger chambers used for public receptions and official ceremonies, while never assuming the monumental character which we observe in contemporary Egyptian buildings, afforded more scope for richness and variety than was offered by the living-rooms.

[Illustration: 258. jpg STAND OF BLACK STONE FROM THE PALACE OF TELLOH.

] Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Heuzey-Sarzec.

Small tablets of brownish limestone, let into the wall or affixed to its surface by terra-cotta pegs, and decorated with inscriptions, represented in a more or less artless fashion the figure of the sovereign officiating before some divinity, while his children and servants took part in the ceremony by their chanting.

Inscribed bricks celebrating the king’s exploits were placed here and there in conspicuous places.

These were not embedded like the others in two layers of bitumen or lime, but were placed in full view upon bronze statues of divinities or priests, fixed into the ground or into some part of the masonry as magical nails destined to preserve the bricks from destruction, and consequently to keep the memory of the dedicator continually before posterity.

Stelaa engraved on both sides recalled the wars of past times, the battle-field, the scenes of horror which took place there, and the return of the victor and his triumph.

Sitting or standing figures of diorite, silicious sandstone or hard limestone, bearing inscriptions on their robes or shoulders, perpetuated the features of the founder or of members of his family, and commemorated the pious donations which had obtained for him the favour of the gods: the palace of Lagash contained dozens of such statues, several of which have come down to us almost intact--one of the ancient Urbau, and nine of Gudea.

To judge by the space covered and the arrangement of the rooms, the vicegerents of Lagash and the chiefs of towns of minor importance must, as a rule, have been content with a comparatively small number of servants; their court probably resembled that of the Egyptian barons who lived much about the same period, such as Khnumhotpu of the nome of the Gazelle, or Thothotpu of Hermopolis.

In great cities such as Babylon the palace occupied a much larger area, and the crowd of courtiers was doubtless as great as that which thronged about the Pharaohs.

No exact enumeration of them has come down to us, but the titles which we come across show with what minuteness they defined the offices about the person of the sovereign.

His costume alone required almost as many persons as there were garments.

The men wore the light loin-cloth or short-sleeved tunic which scarcely covered the knees; after the fashion of the Egyptians, they threw over the loin-cloth and the tunic a large “abayah,” whose shape and material varied with the caprice of fashion.

They often chose for this purpose a sort of shawl of a plain material, fringed or ornamented with a flat stripe round the edge; often they seem to have preferred it ribbed, or artificially kilted from top to bottom.

* * The relatively modern costume was described by Herodotus, i.

114; it was almost identical with the ancient one, as proved by the representations on the cylinders and monuments of Telloh.

The short-sleeved tunic is more rarely represented, and the loin-cloth is usually hidden under the abayah in the case of nobles and kings.

We see the princes of Lagash wearing the simple loin-cloth, on the monuments of Urnina, for example.

For the Egyptian abayah, and the manner of representing it, cf.

vol. i.

pp. 69, 71. The favourite material in ancient times, however, seems to have been a hairy, shaggy cloth or woollen stuff, whose close fleecy thread hung sometimes straight, sometimes crimped or waved, in regular rows like flounces one above another.

This could be arranged squarely around the neck, like a mantel, but was more often draped crosswise over the left shoulder and brought under the right arm-pit, so as to leave the upper part of the breast and the arm bare on that side.

It made a convenient and useful garment--an excellent protection in summer from the sun, and from the icy north wind in the winter.

The feet were shod with sandals, a tight-fitting cap covered the head, and round it was rolled a thick strip of linen, forming a sort of rudimentary turban, which completed the costume.

* *Cf.

the head belonging to one of the statues of Telloh, which is reproduced on p. 112 of this volume.

We notice the same head-dress on several intaglios and monuments, and also on the terra-cotta plaque which will be found on p. 330 of this volume, and which represents a herdsman wrestling with a lion.

Until we have further evidence, we cannot state, as G.

Raw-linson did, that this strip forming a turban was of camel’s hair; the date of the introduction of the camel into Chaldoa still remains uncertain.

It is questionable whether, as in Egypt, wigs and false beards formed part of the toilette.

On some monuments we notice smooth faces and close-cropped heads; on others the men appear with long hair, either falling loose or twisted into a knot on the back of the neck.

* While the Egyptians delighted in garments of thin white linen, but slightly plaited or crimped, the dwellers on the banks of the Euphrates preferred thick and heavy stuffs patterned and striped with many colours.

The kings wore the same costume as their subjects, but composed of richer and finer materials, dyed red or blue, decorated with floral, animal, or geometrical designs;** a high tower-shaped tiara covered the forehead,*** unless replaced by a diadem of Sin or some of the other gods, which was a conical mitre supporting a double pair of horns, and sometimes surmounted by a sort of diadem of feathers and mysterious figures, embroidered or painted on the cap.

Their arms were loaded with massive bracelets and their fingers with rings; they wore necklaces and earrings, and carried each a dagger in the belt.

* Dignitaries went bareheaded and shaved the chin; see, for example, the two bas-reliefs given on pp. 105 and 244 of this volume; cf.

the heads reproduced as tailpieces on pp. 2, 124. The knot of hair behind on the central figure is easily distinguished in the vignette on p. 266 of this volume.

** The details of colour and ornamentation, not furnished by the Chaldaean monuments, are given in the wall-painting at Beni-Nasan representing the arrival of Asiatics in Egypt, which belongs to a period contemporary with or slightly anterior to the reign of Gudea.

The resemblance of the stuffs in which they are clothed to those of the Chaldaean garments, and the identity of the patterns on them with the geometrical decoration of painted cones on the palace at Uruk, have been pointed out with justice by H. G.

Tomkins *** The high tiara is represented among others on the head of Mardukna-dinakhe, King of Babylon: cf.

what is said of the conical mitre, the headdress of Sin, on pp. 14, 169 of this volume.

[Illustration: 262. jpg FEMALE SERVANT BARE TO THE WAIST.

(left)] Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the bronze figure in the Louvre, published by Heuzey-Sarzec, _Decouvertes en Chaldee_, pl.

14. The royal wardrobe, jewels, arms, and insignia formed so many distinct departments, and each was further divided into minor sections for body-linen, washing, or for this or that kind of headdress or sceptre.

The dress of the women, which was singularly like that of the men, required no less a staff of attendants.

The female servants, as well as the male, went about bare to the waist, at all events while working indoors.

When they went out, they wore the same sort of tunic or loin-cloth, but longer and more resembling a petticoat; they had the same “abayah” drawn round the shoulders or rolled about the body like a cloak, but with the women it nearly touched the ground; sometimes an actual dress seems to have been substituted for the “abayah,” drawn in to the figure by a belt and cut out of the same hairy material as that of which the mantles were made.

The boots were of soft leather, laced, and without heels; the women’s ornaments were more numerous than those of the men, and comprised necklaces, bracelets, ankle, finger, and ear rings; their hair was separated into bands and kept in place on the forehead by a fillet, falling in thick plaits or twisted into a coil on the nape of the neck.

[Illustration: 262. jpg COSTUME OF A CHALDAEN LADY (right)] Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the alabaster statuette in the Louvre, published in Heuzey.

She holds in her hand the jar full of water, analogous to the streaming vase mentioned above.

A great deal of the work was performed by foreign or native slaves, generally under the command of eunuchs, to whom the king and royal princes entrusted most of the superintendence of their domestic arrangements; they guarded and looked after the sleeping apartments, they fanned and kept the flies from their master, and handed him his food and drink.

Eunuchs in Egypt were either unknown or but little esteemed: they never seem to have been used, even in times when relations with Asia were of daily occurrence, and when they might have been supplied from the Babylonian slave-markets.