Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/391

 Industrial Arts. 36i occasions ; when hard at work or in the house the tunic was the sole outer garment. 1 As we have seen, the priests 2 in the exercise of their office wore a linen tunic, epJiod bad, or ephod, for short. The head was not shaved as in Egypt, but out of doors was covered with a piece of cloth akin to the modern Arab kuffeiyeh, which fell over the neck and shoulders, bound to the head with a cord. A precisely similar headdress is seen on a captive sculptured in bas-relief on the wall of the temple of Ammon at Karnac, pro- bably recording the expedition of Sesac against Rehoboam. Close to this the Egyptian Pharaoh is portrayed, his arm raised against the numerous host he has destroyed ; whilst those he has spared are ranged a little to the rear with arms tied behind their backs ; the name of each being written on the shield which covers the lower portion of the body. Most names have disappeared ; one of the legends, however, has been interpreted as Iutah Melek, king or realm of Judah (Fig. 253). It would be idle attempting to prove — as has been tried — that we have in this representation a portrait of Rehoboam. On the other hand, it is pretty evident that the Egyptian sculptor intended to symbolize the vanquished Israelites in this bas-relief; and that there should be no mistake, he gave it the peculiar features and characteristic head- gear of the nation it represented. 3 The chief dress of the women was also a long tunic, with wide flowing sleeves, striped in many colours — red, yellow, green, and crimson — to which may have been added embroidery or work done with the needle, in which women were such great adepts that they could make it look as if really woven or raised in elegant patterns, having the Fig. 253. — Hebrew Prisoner. Karnac. Rosellini, Monumenti reali, Plate CXLVIII. 1 The word "meil" or "may" seems to imply a special and richer cloak, affected by persons of wealth or rank (1 Sam, xv. 1 ; xviii. 4 ; xxiv. 5 ; xxviii. 14). 2 With respect to the word "ephod," see ante, pp. 336, 337. 3 Champollion was the first who perceived and pointed out the importance of this interesting monument (Letters écrites d'Egypte et de Nubie, pp. 98, 99. Paris, 1881, in-8°). The late De Rougé coincided with the reading proposed by the Egyptologist patriarch (Memoirs sur V Origine Egyptienne de l'Alphabet Phénicien, p. 53, 1874). Rosellini, Monumenti reali, Plate CXLVIII.