St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-20
THE sGRpENr or THE NILE.
An Interesting dissertation on

an lnecFcskiuS hiSsCFLdbiVh vi
Cleopatra by Fanny Davenport.
l have made study Of Egyptian
dress. fashions, jewelry and art, and it s
surprising how one becomes interested
in country the vista of which is back
ward for centuries, yet the remarkable
things one can learn outside of ones
own interests is almost beyond belief.
] took up the history of Egypt three
years ago, merely to perfect the cos
tunes, accOutrementS, armors. etc,
wnlcn ] intended to use in the produc-
ton of Cleopatra | began with only
looking up the works of authors who
wrote on the subject, and began an
endless search for Illustrated works
that would illuminate the subject l was
intereStedin. OF course the clothes, no
less than the manners of the great queen,
Interested me. / turned over volume
upon volume, came upon lnnumerable
works of artists who have made up the
dresses Of the Egypbian queen from
their own fancy, aud when L began to
play CLEOPATRA" wore the dresses, ar
mOrs, jewels. etc., made from the de-
signs of French artists. The possibili-
ties OF the role led me to study history
closer. | turned leaf after leaf bearing
upon the history of Rome and Egypt,
and after few months study began to
be fascinated with the study. But 1t
Z seemed peculiar that women from
the most careful students OF
Egyptian history. Some of the
greatest feminine minds have been
devoted to the telling of that great coun-
try's history. At home l have all the
works written by women; they
number a score. Harriet Martineau,
Countess Hahn-Hahn, Hon. Mrs. Will
lam Grey, Clara Erskine Clement,
Isabelle Romer, Amelia r. Edwards
and others. AS for the male authors.
their number is legion. The writers
best known in America ale Bayard
| Taylor, Charles Dudley Warner. Charles
w. Stoddard, DR.. Norman Macleod,
| Samuel S. Cox. etc.
BelZoni is an authority, and among
| the latest writer's the great German
, Egyptologist, George Ebers, who lives
| in Leipzig, is the most interesting. His
| novels are accurate descriptions of the
ancient Egyptian everyday life.
But to return to the cOStuming of
cleopatra" Before had seen much of
| ancient Egypt | accepted the French
artists ideas of Egyptian dresses.
made study of Egyptian costumes and
manners, concluded that the French,
| with all the cleverness of their time and
race, had moderniZed cleopatra" so as
/ to conform to the accepted Partisan
! ideas OF dresSmaking. Still in France L
| found the true model.
| In looking over some books on cos
tunes, particularly the Greek and
! Roman models, came across picture
of Rachel as Ph2dre. The costu ne
struck me as being wonderfully unlike
| anything worn by any modern artist.
Yet it seemed to me the most correct
way of dressing the roles Of ancient
| heroines. In every one the same
| sort OF costume gave that peculiar
| statuesque effect that seemed just the
right thing. The great genius of the
| woman stood out here, as it must have
done in every other phase of her art. II
was the simplest form Of dress, and the
, most correct | could find. Five yards OF
| drapery made the endless variations IN
her entire wardrobe. l concluded that
! Cleopatra must have had some of the
millinery ideas of Rome, and OH still
further looking up the matter | found
| among the antiques, illustrations and
| Examinations in the British Museum
| authorities enough to adopt Rachels
/ idea of dressing the queen. Since ther
| five yards of drapery, varied only in
color and material, have principally
made up the raiment of Cleopatra.
| believe L am the only actress since
Rachel's time who has worn only the
draperies with such effects as used BY
| the ancientS.
The jewelry. as it should be, is o.
course another question. In modern
millinery the fiounces, trimmings, etc.
| are the main consideration. The ancien
Egyptian belle, whether an ordinary
parsonage or queen, looked to hel
] jewels for ornamental effect. | carry
| with me thirty-four cases of jewels tt
be worn by Cleopatra in one night. The
| cases are all lined with white silk OF
satin, and the jewels are tied into eacf
case. so as to- prevent their jarring
Two trunks full of jewels to be packed
! and unpacked every night. Yet | an
Immensely proud of my jewelry. Every
| piece was made after special design
or directly copied from some ancient OF
| authentic book or plate. There are
| headpieces, crowns, combs, pompOns
/, earrings, collarettes, collars, neck
| pieces, armlets, armlet chains, bracelets
thumb rings, ring chains, breastplates
SestOs, belts, breastpins, bust chains
| and ankle chains. With this assert
ment of iewelry certainly no lady, not
even queen, needs trimmings for bel
| dresses.
Cleopatra was no barbarian iii hel
tastes. The luxury, Splendor and COM
/! forts of her surroundings have been
/ sufficiently described. That wonderful
barge, with its gorgeous trappings and
i! it's exquisite furnishing, proves the
royal queen of Egypt to be & womanly
woman, vain, imperious, willy, Intellect
ual aud grand: yet how could she have
| enslaved Antony, who knew the luxury
of Roman court in the most luxurious
| century of the worlds history? No, ]
have made of Cleopatra, at least as faT
| as possible, woman who knew to the
! fullest extent how to improve her rare
! beauty, and no ont knows but a
woman to what trifling details she owes
the enhancement of her charms. This
| g0eS-either in ancient, medieval oil
modern history. Therefore, the queens
| jewelry was not an accident Of choice.
| | have not changed, altered or modern
! lied in the slightest manner one piece
| that has been made for me. Whatever
| | wear is from All accurate description
! or model. Of course, some models
| could not wear. The royal crown and
5reaStpiece, fashioned very much like
all American Indian warriors feather
trophy, are so heavy that they would
bear me under, and | am pretty strong.
OF course the constant change Of