The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-25
ANCIENT COSMETICS.
Face Painting an Art of Almost Pre-
historic Origin.

From the London Dressing Table.
The fashion of painting the face
dates from time immemorial and is of
no modern growth; therefore, the
dressing table of the twentieth CEN
fury woman, with it's cosmetics and its
face powders, is really no new thing;
but since the use of cosmetics in any
liberal degree was out of general favor
for years the lavish revival of the art
of face painting may justly be consid-
cred modern.
What first inspired women to paint
their faces is unknown, but the fash
ion may have had it's origin in GUS
tom of the savages of prehistoric times,
who colored their bodies with brilliant
or dull pasteS, as the case might be,
in order to render themselves fasci-
mating to the women or repulsive to
their enemies in battle. 1t is recorded
that amid the remains of the earliest
peoples fragments of limonite-a bril-
liant red-and of manganese ore
which produced black-have been
found, and Herodotus says: when
the Philippians go to war they rub half
of the body with plaster and the other
half with vermillion.'
Face painting is believed to have
been in vogue 1000 B. c., for we are
told that in the tombs of women be-
longing to the oldest Chaldean civili-
cation Jumps of black coloring stuff.
which served to paint the eyebrows,
were found.
The Bible makes several illusions to
the use of cosmetics among the wo-
men folk. We read of painted Jezebel
looking out at a window on the arrival
of Jebu at Jezreel; and jeremiah says
I'm vain you paint the circle of your
eyes with anthony. Your lovers will
despise you" We are reminded, too,
by a modern writer that 1.-THE author
of the Book of Enoch assures us that
even before the deluge the angel Azael
had taught the daughters of men the
art of painting the face" These Bib
lieal illusions to the vanities of wo-
men suggest that the modern love of
the rouge pot is too deep rooted to be
easily overcome, and may, in fact, be
regarded as an inheritance from some
of the earliest peoples.
In the use of anthony there was
originally, no doubt, a motive other
than a vain one, the eyebrows and
eyelashes being blackened in order to
shield the eyes from the dazzling
light, in the same way that Indian
mothers to-day protect the eyes Of
their babies with kOhoI Inc ancient
Egyptians were great patrons of the
use of paint for toilet purposes, and
the Greek women at an early date
painted themselves with rouge Max
Beerbohm, in his Defense of Cos
metics," tells us that "at Rome, in
the keenest time of her delingoade
great ladies, according to Luclan, did
not scruple to squander all they had
upon unguents from Arabia"
The use of rouge in Rome was origi-
nally reserved for religious purposes
to paint the statutes Of the gods on
festal days. In the time Of the Caes-
ars face painting was carried to ex-
cess by the Roman women, who trick
ed themselves into greater charm by
the aid Of their paint boxes. so that II
was said OF them, Two thirds Of the
women are shut up IN paint boxes. ("
Poppaea. the unhappy wife OF the En-
peror Nero. introduced celebrated
cosmetic known as Poppaean paste,
which was composed Of bread and
four and asses milk and for the MAX
Ing Of which she kept a train ~ asses
The paste was Of 80 thick n consist
ency that the face when spread with e.
was like . plaster.