Q: What are some of the differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian styles? Especially think material, ornament, and style of garment. What are the reasons for these differences?
One of the first and main differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian styles were the types of fabrics Egyptians mainly wore linen to keep them cool and Mesopotamians mainly wore what is assumed to be wool which was a new and important piece of period style. There is no way to truly tell if this was actually wool because all of the clothing was destroyed so we only have sculptures and some paintings to go off of.
Another difference is facial hair. The Egyptians were extremely concerned with being clean – both their bodies and clothes. To the Egyptians, an abundance of facial hair was a sign of being unclean or self-neglect. The only exception was a very thing mustache or goatee. On the flip side, Mesopotamians had very long manicured beards. It is quite possibly again about Egyptians desire to stay clean and cool.
Lastly, I would like to talk about jewelry. Both Egyptians and Mesopotamians wore a lot of jewelry, however they looked quite different. Mesopotamian jewelry often had leaves, cones, spirals, and bunches of grapes where as Egyptian jewelry on the other hand expands beyond the necklaces to pectorals, crowns, elaborate headdresses. Both cultures were concerned with decoration but the Egyptians were more so concerned with appearance which could explain why they had more elaborate decorations.
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