Costumes of the Greeks and Romans

by Thomas Hope

Book Overview

From headdresses to sandals, from warrior's armor to priestess's robes, the authentic costumes of people from all walks of life in the Roman and Greek civilizations are here pictured comprehensively and clearly. Three hundred finely drawn, detailed engravings (containing over 700 illustrations) show just what was worn by the poets, philosophers, priests and priestesses, peasants, Bacchanalians, emperors, generals, Amazons, and virgins of a bygone age. Carefully copied from ancient vases and statuary by Thomas Hope (1770-1831), a British collector and designer, these engravings combine an unusual clarity of style with unquestioned authenticity. Their range, too, is unusually great, for besides the many plates on the costumes of the Greeks and Romans, there are representative illustrations of the typical dress of such other civilizations as the Phrygian, Egyptian, Parthian, Etruscan, and Persian. In addition, scores of engravings are devoted to such now-forgotten objects as ancient musical instruments (the lyre, double flute, pipes of Pan, etc.), Bacchanalian implements, articles of furniture, women's trinkets and jewelry, sarcophagi, altars, and other adjuncts to ancient life. Such comprehensiveness makes this book indispensable to costume designers, stage fitters, and producers of classic plays, students of fashion design, and others interested in ancient costumes. The material included here is covered in no ordinary history, and only here can the interested reader discover just how the draping of the Greek robe was achieved, or what was worn at festivals and funerals by the various classes. Art directors, advertising managers, and others on the lookout for unusual and eye-catching illustrations will also treasure this collection. All of the engravings are royalty free and may be used in any way, whether as striking contrasts to modern styles in dress, jewelry, or furniture; for historical perspective; for mood pieces; or simply as unusual attention-getters.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486200213
• ISBN13: 9780486200217
• Release Date: June 1962
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Great for costume references!

This book is great, we are using it to correctly dress some of our program participants for a function wehave coming up.

Aysegul Gungor

This is a very useful book for Art and Design classes. I used it in my design homework and my teacher really liked my new design which I was impressed by the Greek costumes in this book. Aysegul (12 years)

Quality for a low price!

This is one of the best books on the subject. Every costume, theatrical and visual artist will find this book to be an excellent resource of the period. The illustrations are clear, and beautifully rendered.

Excellent resource for teachers of classics and history

The book contains a huge variety of classical drawings which teachers and students can use for fun and enlightenment. Any of the illustrations can be copied on reports, projects, tests or quizzes. They can be enlarged too. You can get a great deal of use from this inexpensive treasure.