CHAPTER NINETEEN

A NOTE ON SUMERIAN FASHION



Lamia al Gailani Werr

A

rchaeological evidence is abundant from works of art: statues, reliefs, cylinder seals,
and written documents. Evidence from actual remains of cloth, linen, wool or
skin is sketchy. Such evidence as there is comes from a few fragments found mostly
in the Royal Cemetery (Woolley 1934 : 238 ). Ration payments for weavers and the
quantities of garments for sale or for export are documented in the texts (for the textile
industry, see Wright this volume).
The archaeological evidence from the later fourth millennium shows men wearing
long belted skirts with pronounced hems. On the seals, the male’s skirt is made of what
seems to be net-like material (Figure 19. 1 ; Amiet 1980 : pl. 44 ). The garments must have
been made from very high-quality material such as very finely woven wool, like the hand-
woven cloaks worn by Arab men today–the finer the material the more prestigious.
The relief on the Warka vase is perhaps the best example of the prevailing ‘fashion’
especially for formal and religious ceremonies in the late fourth millennium (see Figure
10. 1 this volume). The upper row shows a ritual scene where the king or priest who is
facing the goddess or priestess is mostly destroyed and only part of the king’s long skirt
possibly made of net material is visible, with a long tasselled belt made again of a net
material, and held by an attendant or a priest. The latter wears a short belted kilt with
a thick border, which runs down the centre of it and round the hem. The ‘goddess’ is
wearing a long plain bordered garment that covers all her body with the exception of
one bare shoulder. This style, a long garment with one bare shoulder, prevailed as the
main style for women right through the following Early Dynastic period and con-
tinued into the Old Babylonian period.
The crown or the headdress of the goddess is damaged, and only a small part can
be seen. It may be part of a feathered crown, similar to the headdress on the Early

Figure 19.1

Cylinder seal impression

from Warka showing a

man in a net skirt

feeding the flocks

(Iraq Museum 18828 )