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bunnyjadwiga) wrote2005-08-05 11:12 am
bunnyjadwiga) wrote2005-08-05 11:12 am
cosmetics article review/summary
J.D. Hill, "'The end of one kind of body and the beginning of another kind of body'? Toilet instruments and 'Romanization' in southern England during the first century AD," in Adam Gwilt and Colin Haselgrove, Reconstructing Iron Age Societies: New Approaches to the British Iron Age. Oxbow Monograph 71. (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1997)
This article is valuable for those interested in the history of cosmetics and toiletries, and for those interested in Roman-period artifacts. While a good deal of the text is devoted to contextualizing the finds of cosmetics implements, the author also describes the finds of those instruments in Roman Britain:
One can easily see how such items could have been found individually in settlements, given the ease with which items hung on the belt can be lost. Also, the 'wool' the author refers to may either be unspun wool fleece, or woven wool fabric; if fabric was used, however, I suspect it would have been flax or hemp-cloth, those both being the preferred fabrics for most cosmetic applications in later period.
Hill also discusses the small shears found in some areas, as possible beard- or hair-trimmers. The excellent illustrative sketches (actual size) show tweezers, probes, cosmetics mortar, pestles, small shears and nail cleaner, all drawn from extant example and labelled as to find source. A one-page appendix lists the "Late pre-Roman Iron Age toilet object finds in south-eastern England.
Besides, who couldn't like someone who worked a Douglas Adams quote into the title of an article on Iron Age toilet implements?
This article is valuable for those interested in the history of cosmetics and toiletries, and for those interested in Roman-period artifacts. While a good deal of the text is devoted to contextualizing the finds of cosmetics implements, the author also describes the finds of those instruments in Roman Britain:
The commnest early Roman toilet objects are tweezers, nail cleaners, and small ear scoops or picks, c. 4-6 cm long. These often came in sets, known as chatelaines, hung on a ring for attachment to a belt, although most settlement finds are of individual items. Bedoyere (1989, The finds of Roman Britain, 115) has questioned the actual usefulness of these items because of their small size. . . Nevertheless, both their ubiquity and their similarity in size to contemporary toilet items raises questions of his interpretation . . . Small tweezers could have been used for plucking hair from ears, eyebrows, nose, eyelashes, beard or moustache. Nail cleaners had a small flat, notched blad for removing grime from under finger and toe nails. The ear scoops/picks of these sets are related to a range of similar probles, spatulae and ligulae which may be longer, not equipped with a suspension ring, or double ended. . . All could also be used with the end wrapped in wool or similar material for removing or applying cosmetics, or for applying medicinal remedies to the ears or eyes. The ends of such objects could have also been used to push back cuticle, to clean wax from ears, or to extract cosmetics or medicines from their narrow containers.(p. 98)
One can easily see how such items could have been found individually in settlements, given the ease with which items hung on the belt can be lost. Also, the 'wool' the author refers to may either be unspun wool fleece, or woven wool fabric; if fabric was used, however, I suspect it would have been flax or hemp-cloth, those both being the preferred fabrics for most cosmetic applications in later period.
Hill also discusses the small shears found in some areas, as possible beard- or hair-trimmers. The excellent illustrative sketches (actual size) show tweezers, probes, cosmetics mortar, pestles, small shears and nail cleaner, all drawn from extant example and labelled as to find source. A one-page appendix lists the "Late pre-Roman Iron Age toilet object finds in south-eastern England.
Besides, who couldn't like someone who worked a Douglas Adams quote into the title of an article on Iron Age toilet implements?