Hi all,
I have the role of Mary in my church’s living nativity scene. I have to make my own costume and I want it to look authenic-ish. So what sort of things would a woman be wearing 2000 years ago in roman occupied Isreal? What about footwear?
Cheers
I’m no expert, but I believe that the standard tunic and mantle that you see in common creche is close enough. That is a two piece garment: a sleeveless sack-like thing that went down to the ankles, and an upper piece that covered the shoulders, arms, head and neck. She would have worn sandals.
Keep in mind that in the orthodox traditions (Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican) Mary always wears white and blue, the colors of virginity and purity. Probably not historically accurate, but wearing other colors in those types of churches may make some clergy and congregants cross. Not sure what type of church you attend.
There’s authentic and then there’s theater authentic. If you’re costuming for a community theatrical/church production and use anything other than bedsheets in white and blue (or something that looks very much like it), you’re going to create resistance in your audience and they won’t enjoy your production as much. This isn’t the time to get it “right,” it’s the time to meet your audience’s expectations. The show is for them, after all.
I dunno, I’ve seen plenty of nativity scenes (living and sculptures) that have everyone, Mary included, wearing browns and various other earthy tones, and it didn’t look off at all.
I think that if you check a history of dyes you will find that blues were quite rare and expensive until the last few hundred years so the blue would be for religious symbolism, I should think.
Having been Joseph and Mary (with my wife) 4 or 5 times we always go for light blue and white, because that’s the what you expect. You can’t go wrong with that historical inaccuracies beside.
“The Passion of the Christ” had the Virgin wearing beige and (dark) brown, much closer to what it must’ve been.
I’m with Chronos. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Mary with a pure white and blue. Looks almost…fake. Like a figurine set. Usually I have seen earthier colors. Reds, browns, off-whites.
Maybe it is a denomination thing.
Another place where tradition is placed over realism–you can usually see Mary’s hair in any Nativity, but one of the purposes of the “upper piece” was to cover up one’s hair, as it was a sign that one was taken (married or betrothed). It’s still practiced in Hasidic Jewish communities (amongst others) to this day, albeit wigs have become a popular covering.
For construction of basic garments –
an Ozzie link:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/radical_romans/female/female.htm
and a U.S. one:
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing2.html
Image archive (from above site; click on thumbnails for enlarged pictures):
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing_images.html
A large collection of ancient Rome costume links:
