Period: Roman Period
Place: Hawara (Egypt D – K / Egypt)
Judging by the several hundreds of examples found in Romano-Egyptian tombs, the hairnet was probably one of the most popular head coverings of Late Roman and Late Antique Egypt. This particular hairnet was found in a tomb at Hawara, Egypt, just south of the Nile River delta. During this time, the deceased were buried with the clothes they wore in their daily life. Since hairnets are most commonly found such clothes, it suggests that they were not produced solely for a funerary purpose, but rather represented a typical daily costume. A more complete hairnet can be found in the collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Its picture can be seen below.
Hairnets were made with a technique called “sprang,” a kind of braiding with stretched threads producing an elastic fabric quite suitable for head coverings (Digital Egypt). Early predecessors of this type of weaving and hairnet have been traced back to ancient Rome and even ancient Greece and they are very much part of the European rather than African tradition. Hair types changed enormously over the 6000 years or so that cover pre-dynastic to Roman Egypt. This was because of the number of foreigners settling and in the later periods controlling the country.
These fragments were identified as a hairnet through testing which identified a sample of hair found in one portion of the netting. Due to the degradation of the fibers, these results may not be 100% reliable, but other known examples of hairnets make it a probable assumption.
Museum conservation records tell us that this hairnet is made of linen fibers, a material that preserves remarkably well in the arid Egyptian climate. In 1983, these nettings were preserved through a process in which they were placed in a humidified chamber keeping them flexible enough to allow for the manipulation of the fibers. The nets were opened, separated and then further humidified with 2:3 distilled water and alcohol which enabled the nets to be flattened and shaped. Once sewn together with a silk tread dyed with a stable dye, the nets were then mounted on acid free cardboard, put into place with pins.
This QR exhibition is a part of “African Combs: 5000 years of culture, politics, and identity,” a multi-disciplinary project at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University. The project, led by Sally-Ann Ashton, aims to trace over 5000 years of history of the African Comb from the Pre-dynastic period of Egypt to the twentieth century in the UK and US. The project will include oral histories and personal testimonies that will document attitudes towards hair and grooming in the present day. Recording YOUR stories relating to hair combs and hair is a crucial part of this project.
To get involved at the Petrie Museum, watch for up coming workshops and focus groups on hair combs.
Anyone interested in taking part in the project should contact Sally-Ann
Ashton on 01223 332905, or e-mail SA337@cam.ac.uk
