Artist-at-Work Demonstration:

Unstitching Ancient Garments

Know, first, who you are; then adorn yourself accordingly.
Epictetus

Exploring

Classical Couture
a capite ad calcem with

Legio VI Victrix
Saturday, October 13 and 20, 2012

2011 J. Paul Getty Trust

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Unstitching Ancient Garments

Introduction
Welcome to the Getty Villas Artist-at-Work Demonstration, featuring the members of Legio VI Victrix! This demonstration is inspired by the many images of ancient costumes and actual accoutrements in the Museums collection. We hope that you enjoy the program and use this handout as a reference throughout the demonstration or while viewing related works of art in the galleries. Ancient Greek and Roman Costume We know from a multitude of visual sources that dress had a significant presence in ancient life. For the both Greeks and Romans, dress reflected the constraints of an hierarchical society. With a few exceptions, both Greek and Roman clothing tended to be draped, wrapped and pinned as opposed to closely fitted, as our today's clothes. While this was true across lines of sex and societal hierarchy, the color, material, and quality of ones garment reflected status and rank as well as office and authority. Ancient coins, sculpture, statues, and paintings mirrored contemporary social attitudes. Like these forms of mass communication, Greco-Roman dress is a lens to better understand the past. By exploring different costumes as modeled by the members of Legio VI Victrix, we will see Classical fashion and attitudes come to life. What follows is a list of members from ancient Roman society and a description of the types of garments that they would wear. Ancient Greece The tunic was the basic article of clothing that literally stitched the classical clothing world together. Three ladies of the Legion Six Historical Society will be wearing and discussing different interpretations of the tunic-- the peplos and the Ionic chiton worn in Ancient Greece, and the [Roman] stola worn throughout the Roman Empire. They will also be wearing personal adornments-jewelry, shoes and hair accessories which not only reflect the socioeconomic status of the woman, but uniquely reflect geographical materials-- i.e. lapis from the Eastern Mediterranean-- but delineate broad fashion trends of her time period. Typically homespun, an activity considered the quintessential domestic art and female pastime in Ancient Greece, a woman's ensemble would consist of two principal garments-the aforementioned tunic fashioned as either a peplos or chiton and a cloak or wrap known as a himation. The peplos, originally a simple rectangular piece of [heavy] fabric like unbleached or natural wool, was worn folded over along the upper edge forming a 'bib' (apoptygma) and was fastened at the shoulders with pins. This peplos, more than the chiton, was a unique garment of both the Greek islands and the Greek mainland.

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Unstitching Ancient Garments

The Ionic chiton a garment characterized by its diaphanous folds and pleats was made of lighter-weight material-linen-and later, depending upon the social station of it's wearer, spun silk and highly-colored. Usually twice the length of the woman's outstr etched arms, this rectangular piece of fabric, as long as it was wide, was stitched up along the sides and either pinned or stitched at the shoulders, finally girdled around the waist. The addition of the belt or girdle below the breasts or around the waist created the sleeve effect. The himation, also worn by men, was also a rectangular piece of cloth, albeit of heavier weight than the chiton, either of wool or heavier linen. It was often worn over the chiton to afford extra protection against the elements and in consideration of modesty. It was draped diagonally over one shoulder or symmetrically over both shoulders, like the Roman palla. Ancient Rome The garment that best described the ideals of modesty and matronly domesticity cherished by the Roman matrona was the stola, a long tunic which touched the tops of the woman's feet and was complemented by a long, rectangular woolen mantle worn over it called a palla. Under the stola, the woman sometimes wore a tunica interior, akin to the chemise of later times. Made of linen or lightweight wool, it was generally worn belted under the breasts-more for support than decoration-and could be worn alone with a palla, a length of fabric of various materials-draped around the body. Married women generally added the stola over the tunica interior. The addition of this garment was purely to represent the woman's marital status rather than suggest a social class-the colors and textiles used were the criteria of social standing. Tunics, stolas and pallas were dyed in different colors, usually vibrant hues, as Roman society was partial to a spectrum of bright colors; the passage of time has stripped statuary of the often garish paint that was used to color the statues and lend a sense of realism and element of contemporary popular culture, leisure and style.

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Unstitching Ancient Garments

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO: Founded in AD 2001, the Legion Six Historical Foundation is a California-based group of living historians who strive to recreate the soldiers and civilians of a Roman frontier town in the Second Century A.D. The groups talented members have produced their own clothing, armor, equipment, and everyday objects, all based on actual archaeological finds, ancient representational arts and sculpture, and primary literary references. Its mission is to inform, educate and entertain people of all ages about Greco-Roman civilization by giving them a first-hand look at how Romans looked, dressed, equipped themselves and related to oneanother. Toward these goals, Legion Six has participated in film and television productions (including programs such as Conquest, The True Story of Hannibal, Mysteries of the Bible and Party Like an Emperor), set up encampments at timeline events and historical fairs, given presentations at schools and universities, and, most prestigiously, presented entertaining and informative programs at the worldfamous Getty Villa in Malibu. The Legion Six Historical Foundation 50133 non-profit organization and runs on the tax-exempt contributions of its supporters.