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Women's fashion in the early 1800s (roughly 1797-1815 or so) was very much inspired by discoveries being made about the ancient Roman empire. Dresses became more columnar and the underbust waistlines were called 'empire waists.' Long, draped shawls evoked the draped clothing seen on ancient statuary. Even fashionable hair styles took its cues from ancient Greece and Rome.
I stumbled down a Pinterest rabbit hole a few months ago, as one does, and discovered the beauty of ancient 'mummy portraits,' or funerary portraits. They are usually a single portrait of a person from the shoulders up and are highly individualized and recognizable. Most of the mummy portraits known today are from Egypt, but date to when the Roman empire ruled in the area and look more like Greco-Roman art than Egyptian art (source).
The first thing that struck me about them was how that was a real human person who lived and breathed thousands of years ago! The second thing - after I recovered from my staring-history-literally-in-the-face moment - was how similar the Roman/Egyptian women's hair and jewelry were to styles popular at the beginning of the 1800s!
Looking at these portraits (like these ones from my Pinterest board), it's easy to see similarities between these portraits and popular Regency fashion.
The women's hair is parted down the center from the forehead, and there are often curls or ringlets around the forehead. The rest of their har seems to be pulled up or back somehow. These are just paintings, of course, so we can't see the back.
Following the curls down, we reach the earrings. (I'm speculating about materials based purely on appearances, but I don't think I'm reaching too far. ) Pearls seem to be popular, as do round beads that might be gold, amber, or a similar colored material. Some hang in stacked pairs, some appear to be attached to hoops, and others hang two or three at a time in a chandelier/girandole style. Lady Detalle sells Regency variations of the stacked pearl earrings, as well as pairs in coral and other stones. Dames a la Mode has a few chandelier/girandole style earrings similar to the ones in the funerary portraits.
There are more differences in the necklaces between the two eras, but there seems to be one simple style in common - a simple, classic strand of beads. In the funerary portraits there seem to be examples of strands of pearls, strands of some sort of gold-colored bead, and even strands of red beads that might be coral or carnelian (I am, again, guessing at materials). A strand of pearls is truly timeless and certainly had its place in the Regency era, and coral and carnelian necklaces were popular as well. Dames a la Mode has a carnelian necklace in this style and one in gold.
All of this got me wondering whether these European styles could have been purposefully based on mummy portraits.
The short answer? No. Funerary portraits weren't bought and sold in Europe until about the 1820s.
The medium answer? Possibly, but probably not. Some mummy portraits were taken to Italy in the early 1600s and somehow ended up in Germany for some reason, where they now reside in the Albertinum (which is a modern art museum and now I have even more questions).
Ultimately, it's more likely the similarities are based more on statuary and other art from the era.
Wikipedia's Fayum Mummy Portrait article was my main source of info on funerary portraits for this post. Special thanks to whoever wrote the 'Museum' part of the article for pointing out shady artifact acquisition. More information is available from The Met's 2000 exhibition "Ancient Faces." None of the product links are sponsored, I just like the companies and like supporting small businesses!
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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