Um, the June 2012 issue of National Geographic Magazine has an article with color photographs on the colors of the Terra Cotta Army. Check your local library (or your neighbors) for a copy. The colors were stunning. Definitely eye bleeding time. As for peasants, see if you can google Chinese painting for that period and look for workers in the rice paddies or something like that. There are often travelogue paintings that sometimes have servants hauling everything up a mountain.
Ginni -----Original Message----- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of WorkroomButtons.com Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 3:56 AM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] Chinese peasant costumes... help? Thanks! I think I found the statue you're describing: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PGdp__poAtM/T-LYMC-WgCI/AAAAAAAAL8Q/Nld5-rVqp7c/s1600/scan0004.jpg You're right -- pretty garish... One does wonder what kind of dyes might have been used by Chinese peasants. This may be irrelevant, but I read that European peasants' clothing was actually quite colorful, and that they frequently re-dyed them as the natural colors tended to fade. Wow! That sounds like quite the project you have there. I haven't a clue about peasant costumes, sorry. But one thing you might want to think about is, colour was used a lot more that it would appear now. The statues pretty much appear to be a consistent mud shade, right? Well, I was watching one documentary about these statutes (I admit it, the things fascinate me), and apparently they used to be painted incredibly colourfully but the paint didn't survive time as well as the terracotta. There are only traces of the paint left, not enough that would show up on camera, so a German (or at least I think it was German) museum recreated one of the statues and then using the traces of paint found on it, painted as it would have been when it was "buried" and put it on display. Most people are so blown away by the garishness of the colours they have difficulty believing that is what it would have looked like. So after my long tangent...don't write off colours for the peasan! t kinds, because if those statues were anything to go by, apparently there wasn't a colour they didn't like in any combination. LOL! Just about enough to make your eyes bleed - as bad as the Greeks! Cheers, Danielle _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication with its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Unauthorized interception, review, use or disclosure is prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the communication. _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
