Body Adornment

Native American Adornment 

The origins of knitting comes from the Egyptians, and the very first pieces of anything resembling knitting we know about were socks, found in Egyptian tombs dating back to around 3AD, a time when Egypt was part of the Roman Empire. Regardless of the strong link to the origins of knitting and the Egyptians, I think that their fashion is fascinating. They were architects of fashion with their garments filled with a variety of colours and adorned with precious gems and jewels.  They highly valued personal adornment, and jewellery was worn by both men and women of all social classes. Statues of kings and gods were adorned with lavish jewels, and the deceased were sent off into the afterlife ornamented in the jewellery of the living. Jewellery was very popular in Ancient Egypt, no matter the social class. It was heavy and rather voluminous. The Egyptians became very skilled when making jewellery from turquoise, metals like gold and silver, and small beads. Those who could not afford jewellery made from gold or other stones would make their jewellery from coloured pottery beads.One creation that was specific to ancient Egypt was the gorgerine, an assembly of metal discs worn on the chest, either over bare skin or over a shirt, and attached in the back. Earrings, bracelets, armbands, collar pieces, rings and anklets were all common types of adornments worn in ancient Egypt. Jewellery seemed to be the most important factor of an Ancient Egyptians wardrobe. I plan to take this concept of making accessories a focus point in my photo shoot, but styling them in diverse ways. I wish for the accessories to be placed in unconventional ways in place of a garment.

African Adornment

Africans have ancient traditions for decorating and accessorising the body in rich and varied ways. Traditionally, many African people wore little to cover their bodies, leaving their skin exposed and available for decoration. Africans adorned themselves in four general ways: scarification, body painting, beadwork, and jewellery.

Scarification involves deliberately cutting the skin in decorative patterns that leave permanent scars. Scarification can be in the form of grooves cut down in the skin or welts that stick up above the skin in raised designs.

Body painting is a colourful art used by various African cultures to celebrate, protect, and mourn. Traditionally, body paint was mixed from natural ingredients and smoothed on the skin with fingers, sticks, or grasses. Oil, clay, and chalk were the most common paint ingredients, but the Dinka of southern Sudan have in the past used ash, cattle dung, and urine to make their face paint. Some wear body paint to indicate their age and apply full body decorations as a kind of daily outfit.

Jewellery of many sorts is worn throughout the African continent. Both women and men wear necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings, nose rings, and other jewellery. Jewellery serves as both an ornament to beautify and, in some cases, a protective guard against evil spirits. Ndebele women of Zimbabwe beautify themselves by stretching their necks with tight rings of brass called dzilla. The Berbers of northern Africa wear silver ornaments to protect themselves from illness and evil spirits.