Pu-abi’s headdress was the most elaborate one found (Figure 19. 3 ). It, too, was made
of gold and semi-precious stones. Gold ribbons wind round the head crossing each
other, sometimes falling down the sides. Over these are strands of lapis and carnelian
beads supporting gold rings. Over the beads are rows of willow and beach leaves made
from sheets of gold. Above them are small gold rosettes and at the back is a comb
crowned with six large rosettes with blue and white petals (Aruz 2003 : 110 , cat. no. 61 ).
The sumptuous and expensive dress styles of the Royal Cemetery and also from the
statues and reliefs must belong to a selected group of Sumerian society, that is, the
ruling class. Our knowledge of what the ordinary people wore is negligible. Texts from
the Ur III period only mention garments, and there is no indication of how they were
worn or who wore them.
Men’s dressThe men’s attire differs from that of the women. Men mostly wore either a short or a
long belted skirt of plain material with a fleeced hem and a tasselled knot at the back.
A variation is a skirt made of tufted or fleeced material in several rows, sometimes
overlapping, and a cord-like belt with tasselled knot at the back (Aruz 2003 : 63 , cat. no.
26 ). A third type of skirt is shorter than the other two styles, it has a belt, and the
material hangs down in long tufts from the waist and has a plain triangular cloth at
the front which may indicate a skirt underneath with tufts wrapped over it (Aruz 2003 :
72 , cat. no. 31 ). Men were either depicted clean shaven or with long hair and beard.
Perhaps the best portrayal of the varied styles is the hoard of statues discovered buried
in the Abu temple at Tell Asmar in the Diyala region showing both men and women
worshippers (see Figure 19. 2 ). In this group, the plain garment with tufted hem is
common, the men’s chests are bare and all have beard with the exception of one
worshipper with a bald head.
The plain skirt with the fleeced hem was probably the most common type on the
Standard of Ur, another object illustrating many types of male fashion (Aruz 2003 : 97 ,
cat. no. 5 ). Most of the figures, attendants, tribute bearers and military personnel,
musicians and porters are clad in the plain skirt. The exception is the main figure
depicted larger in size than the others. He wears the all-tufted skirt, perhaps to distin-
guish him from the rest of the courtiers who are participating in the festivities.
It is to be noted that the fleeced skirt seen on male figures on statues and reliefs is
almost absent on cylinder seals (exceptions, Amiet 1980 : pl. 61 , fig. 827 ; pl. 89 , fig.
1179 ). This could be due to the limited size of the cylinders. The diorite statue of
Enmetena (Figure 19. 4 ), ruler of Lagash, is perhaps one of the best-known repre-
sentations of the elaborate rows of fleece on a skirt. On the plaque of Ur-Nanshe,
another ruler of Lagash, he is shown with a shaven head, bare chest and wearing a
fleeced skirt. On the upper row, he is carrying a basket. In the second row of the same
plaque, Ur-Nanshe is enthroned and wearing again a fleeced skirt. The occasion may
have been to celebrate the completion of building the temple (Aruz 2003 : 31 , fig. 16 ;
Figure 10. 2 this volume). On both sides is a procession of his sons, their names are
inscribed on their plain skirts. The exception is the standing figure, possibly his
daughter, who is wearing the fleeced skirt and a fleeced shawl draped over one shoulder
(Aruz 2003 : 31 , fig. 16 ).
–– Lamia al Gailani Werr ––