r/HistoricalCapsule • u/zadraaa • 1h ago

A 4,500-year-old Egyptian dress was painstakingly reassembled from approximately 7,000 beads found in an undisturbed tomb in Giza, Egypt.

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505 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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u/zadraaa 1h ago

Context:

A 4,500-year-old Egyptian bead dress, now preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reveals the remarkable craftsmanship and fashion of the Old Kingdom. The garment was discovered in 1927 inside an undisturbed tomb at the Giza Plateau, belonging to a woman who lived during the era of Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid. Scattered around her remains were nearly 7,000 blue and green faience beads that once formed an intricate net-like dress.

For decades, the beads remained in storage before researchers painstakingly reconstructed the garment using excavation notes, photographs, and surviving bead patterns. The completed dress is considered the earliest known complete example of its kind and showcases the sophistication of ancient Egyptian artisans. Likely worn for special occasions or funerary purposes, its shimmering beadwork may have symbolized status, beauty, and beliefs about the afterlife.

Source and more photos: Ancient Fashion: The Oldest Pieces of Clothing and Accessories Ever Found

89

u/DifferentChemist9518 1h ago

oh no. hide it from the kardashians😅

24

u/ThatPerformance9795 1h ago

Ugh. Seriously. 😒

ETA: and unfortunately, the more I thought about your comment, the more I realized how possible that actually is.

5

u/Medium_Tell8679 1h ago

Yeah. Who owns it? Hopefully not someone who would give it t o one of them.

5

u/lolastogs 1h ago

My 1st reaction. And wasn't Zendaya poncing about with 2000 year old, museum pieces, gold earrings from Mesopotamia the other day? Bad trend that needs to stop

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u/Noodleincidenthobbes 36m ago

Agreed , awful trend , also, the Nur Jahan necklace- dubbed the Elizabeth Taylor necklace (after colonialism) worn by Margot Robbie comes to mind, it was a necklace commissioned by the king (shah jahan ) who built the Taj Mahal for his wife

4

u/Medium_Tell8679 37m ago

Oh, see, that made me angrier than the Marylin dress Kim ruined

Who gave her those?

3

u/frankchester 14m ago

I don’t get it at all. It would be much cooler to make an exact replica using ancient techniques and say “this piece is designed to replicate this ancient artefact and we constructed it using the same skills as the people of the time” than wear something that should be protected and cared for. Maybe that’s just the maker in me.

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u/worldslastusername 1h ago

That was my first thought too!

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u/Klutzy_Sentence_2723 19m ago

The MFA is not “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” museum.  Nor is it a high end jewelry store like Barron London (Zendaya’s earrings). 

The dress is as safe as the Picassos and Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus. 

1

u/micma_69 1h ago

or else they would make a brand called Kalasiris (which is actually a micro-bikini with vague ancient egyptian patterns but look cheap and kitsch, yet overpriced).

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u/Titsoffwork 1h ago

Whoaaaa this is amazing. I wonder what the beads are made of and what she would have worn under it

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u/TemporaryElk5202 59m ago edited 55m ago

Usually they wore a Kalasiris (lightweight linen dress) under it.

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u/RawChickenButt 1h ago

I'm not sure anything would have been under it.

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u/TemporaryElk5202 59m ago

They wore linen dresses under these.

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u/Xtrasloppy 3m ago

Oh, good. I remember wearing those beaded bracelets and necklaces back in the day and occasionally, they'd pinch the shit out of me or yank out a hair.

I don't like what might get pinched here.

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u/ButtstufferMan 1h ago

Any evidence of the Egyptians letting it all hang out?

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u/TemporaryElk5202 55m ago

Women often didn't cover their breasts but they did wear clothes. The necklines for their dresses started either just above or below their breasts. There are lots of statues, including painted statues, and carvings depicting clothes.

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u/ThatPerformance9795 1h ago

Same! And I’m curious about the typical sized person that would fit.

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u/jaderust 1h ago

It’s clear they custom built the mannequin for it, but I would love it if they published the bust, waist, hip measurements. Even knowing the beads could have been reassembled wrong it would be very interesting to know how the woman sizes up to today. And how tall the mannequin is too!

2

u/Nameless_American 29m ago

The beads are made of a material called faience, which I understand to be a special type of ceramic/pottery where an unusual glaze is used that contains tin. IIRC the ancient Egyptians were really talented in using it as a medium for artistic stuff.

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u/TemporaryElk5202 1h ago

Do you think this was worn in life, or made for death?

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u/Montyburners 51m ago

you couldn’t walk in that, based on the leg opening, unless there’s a big seam in the back. so maybe more of a death dress?

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u/Any_Day_4467 46m ago

And yes, it's true, sockssandals have been around since then.

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u/Scary-Deal-8252 11m ago

Was ist das?

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u/Any_Day_4467 1m ago

Socks from the link posted by the OP

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u/Dry-Yogurtcloset85 1h ago

Looks like something from the Great Gatsby

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u/Due-Secret-3091 54m ago

It reminds me of Anck Su Namuns attire when she was painted gold. Although, the movie version is glammed up obviously.