Chapter XXVIII: The Clown and Painting the Body

THE CLOWN'S DRESS--SAVAGE PAINTING AND SURVIVALS OF
IT--TATTOOING--PATCHES AND FALSE COMPLEXIONS--MASKS

No costume is perhaps more characteristic or better known than that of the clown; and it is of special interest, for while the hat was fashionable at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the dress, generally speaking, is a caricature of that which was in vogue in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The same remarks apply to the method of hair-dressing, and we shall see, when dealing with the other characters that appear in the harlequinade, that the pantaloon in his dress illustrates that of the same time in our history.

Unlike the other heroes of the pantomime, the clown is essentially English, and he is to be found also in the circus of to-day, at all times of the year, as well as on the stage at Christmas.

As to the clown's clothes, first of all there is the ruff, which is, however, not stiffened out. He has trunk hose or wide breeches which do not reach to his knee, his stockings are well ornamented with clocks; and lastly, there is the paint on his face, which brings us to a custom that seems nearly as old as man himself. (See Figure 157 and Plate X, Figure A.)

Among the relics of the ancient cave men of Europe are found hollowed stones, and these were used as mortars in which ochre and other colours were ground for painting the body.

THE HEAD OF A CLOWN, SHOWING THE PAINTED FACE, THE RUFF AND THE ELIZABETHAN METHOD OF DOING THE HAIR.

FIG. B.

THE FACE OF A JAPANESE ACTOR.

(_After Moseley, by the courtesy of Mr. John Murray._)

FIG. C.

THE PAINTED FACE OF A PAPER FIGURE WHICH IS BURNED AT CHINESE FUNERALS.

(_After Moseley, by the courtesy of Mr. John Murray.)_

FIG. D.

THE TATTOOED HEAD OF A MAORI CHIEF.

(_By the courtesy of General Robley._)

_PLATE X._]

The Egyptians still follow the practice of blackening the edge of the eyelid, both below and above the eye, with a black powder called kohl. The material is prepared either from burning an aromatic resin or the shells of almonds. The custom prevailed among both sexes in Egypt far back in its history, and long before the historic period, painting the eyes was already practised by the people whom Professor Petrie called the "New Race" (until he determined that they preceded the dynastic Egyptians).

It may be well to point out that these prehistoric people lived about 6000 years B.C.: they had little or no metal, though they made most beautiful flint knives and stone vases. They buried their dead lying on one side with the knees towards the chin, instead of making mummies. Among the contents of their tombs have been found curious slate palettes of all shapes and sizes, similar to some which had previously been known for many years, but the origin of which was undetermined. It has been shown that these palettes were used for grinding up malachite to form a green colour with which to paint the eye. The idea was, it is supposed, to mitigate the glare of the sun, and is similar to that which leads Anglo-Indians to have the under sides of the brims of their hats coloured green.

Another kind of temporary ornamentation is produced in Egypt to-day by staining the feet and hands with the juice of the leaves of henna. The result is that the part to which it is applied becomes a yellowish red or deep orange colour. The most common practice is to dye the tips of the fingers and toes so far as the first joint, the whole of the inside of the hand and the sole of the foot, and there are other and more fanciful modes of applying the henna, which is said to have an agreeable effect upon the skin, particularly in the way of preventing it from becoming too tender. The dyeing has to be renewed every fortnight or three weeks, and the stain is brighter and more permanent on the nails than on the fingers.

Among many native races in a low stage of civilization there are few who do not decorate their body by painting it in some way. We have already mentioned that painting takes away the appearance of nakedness, and that many nations would be as much ashamed to be seen without their paint, as Europeans would be to walk about without their clothes. On special occasions, however, particularly striking colours are put on--for instance, by the Australians when about to dance a corroboree, and Professor Moseley[40] has pointed out that they have breast stripes and leg stripes such as those which are seen on European uniforms. At first sight these, as Professor Moseley, indeed, points out, would appear to have quite a different origin, but it will be remembered that when speaking of the Hussar uniform and the Dutch skeleton dress (see pages 145-6) it was suggested that the ornamentation might be intended to follow the lines of the chief bones of the body, and it is possible that the same idea may have underlain the painting carried out by savages.

In this case what in one instance was effected by paint was in the other done by means of trimmings.

Paint plays a great part in savage warfare, and no doubt the intention very often was to terrify the adversary. It is apparently this idea which actuated the old inhabitants of this country, who, as Cæsar says, stained themselves with woad in order to be of horrider aspect in battle; but Dr. Tylor has pointed out the error into which many historians have fallen through considering as savages races who, while having attained to considerable civilization, still kept up the practice of colouring their bodies in time of war. To the instances which we have mentioned of modern races staining themselves, we may add that of the Hindu women in India, who colour their teeth black and paint their feet scarlet. Japanese women blacken their teeth upon marriage.

In certain Japanese plays the actors have bright streaks of red paint made on their faces, usually on each side of the eyes (see Plate X, Figure B).

Professor Moseley[41] records that the same form of painting is to be seen in the case of Japanese children on festive occasions, for after they have been elaborately dressed by their parents they are further adorned with one or two transverse and narrow streaks of bright red paint, leading outwards from the outer corners of their eyes, or placed near to that position. The style is the same as that which survives in the case of adults on the stage. Professor Moseley brings forward a further case showing that such a form of painting possibly existed in ancient times in China. When a man of distinction died in China in former times, a certain number of servants were sacrificed at his burial. Now, figures made of pasteboard and paper, about three feet or so high, are burnt instead at the funeral service in small furnaces provided for the purpose in the temples, together with cartloads of similar pasteboard gifts which are sent by the survivors for the use of the dead in the next world. Earthenware figures were similarly buried with great men in old times in Japan, and we may compare with these customs that of the Egyptians who buried models of servants, as mentioned on page 268, in the graves of their dead.

The pasteboard heads of these funeral servants and retainers are painted with streaks, some of which are put on in almost exactly the same style, at the angles of the eyes, as those of modern Japanese actors. It seems a fair conjecture that the streaks on these heads are a direct survival of an actual former savage form of painting which was once in vogue in China, and probably used to make fighting men hideous.

It is well known that primitive customs survive in connection with funerals all over the world with extreme tenacity. The numerous interesting survivals existing in the case of English funerals are familiar.

We give a figure taken from the head of a Chinese servant, which Professor Moseley bought at a manufactory of funeral properties in Hong Kong. (See Plate X, Figure C.)

With regard to the ordinary use of paint by women in China and Japan, Professor Moseley points out that it is entirely different in principle from that in vogue in Europe. He says: "The use of paint as an ornament in China and Japan seems to me to be of considerable interest. In both countries the women regularly paint their faces when in full dress, of which the paint is a necessary part.

"The paint is not put on with any idea of simulating a beauty of complexion, which might be present naturally, or which has been lost by age. The painted face is utterly unlike the appearance of any natural beauty.

"An even layer of white is put on over the whole face and neck, with the exception, in Japan, of two or three angular points of natural brown skin, which are left bare at the back of the neck as a contrast. After the face is whitened, a dab of red is rubbed in on the cheeks, below each eye. The lips are then coloured pink with magenta, and in Japan this colour is put on so thickly that it ceases to appear red, but takes on the iridescent metallic green tint of the crystallized aniline colour.

"In modern Japanese picture books, the lips of girls may sometimes be seen to be represented thus green. I suppose the idea is that such application of paint shows a meritorious disregard for expense. It is curious that the use of aniline colour should have so rapidly spread in China and Japan. In China, at least, such was not to be expected; but it seems to have supplanted the old rouge, and it is sold spread on folding cards, with Chinese characters on them, at Canton and in Japan. This form of painting the face seems to be exactly of the same nature as savage painting."

The likeness of this painting to that of our clowns is of course quite obvious.

Sometimes the painting of the body has a practical advantage. The Andaman Islanders plaster themselves with a mixture of lard and coloured earth, which protects their skin from the heat and mosquitoes; but, as Dr. Tylor points out, they go off into love of display when they proceed to draw lines on the paint with their fingers, or when a dandy will colour one side of his face red and the other olive-green, and make an ornamental border-line where the two colours meet down his chest and abdomen.

Fashions in paint were quite as slavishly followed as any other, and, as we see, have died hard. It is not a very far cry from painting to tattooing. Of savages, Théophile Gautier has said that, having no clothes to embroider, they embroider themselves. Scar tattooing is connected with various rites such as are followed when a brave arrives at manhood, and certainly tattooing serves to indicate the family or tribe to which the ornamented person belongs. There is no doubt, however, that the intention of much tattooing is to increase individual beauty. Excellent examples of this are to be found in the case of the Maoris, whose faces were most elaborately covered with designs. We are kindly permitted to reproduce some of the drawings which General Robley has made from specimens in his magnificent collection (see Plate X, Figure D). The practice now, however, is dying out. Of the Formosans it is said that their skins are covered with flower patterns until they look like damask.

Tattooing was practised by the old inhabitants of this country, by the Jews and the earliest Egyptians: it is still carried on in modern Egypt, chiefly on the chin, on the back of the hands, the arms and feet, the middle of the bosom, and the forehead. It survives principally in the case of the women of the lower classes and in the country. Among European sailors and among the lower classes, and even occasionally those up in high social scale, we find tattooing carried on, though the original idea of ornamentation is lost when the decoration is covered by clothing.

We have seen occasionally at shows--such as that organized by Barnum--white people who have been tattooed to a very great extent, and even in the case of Europeans the patterns tend to take off the bare look even of the white skin. No doubt the desire to make permanent such ornamentation as that obtained by painting, led to the introduction of tattooing, and just as some marks suggest that they are copied from amulets, so some amulets show traces of having been derived from tattoo patterns. Mr. Lovett has pointed out to us that possibly the floral designs worked on the backs of the bodices of the women of Marken, in Holland, may have originated from tattooing, but no doubt careful research would show some other and undoubted instances.

The painting of the face, which is intended to heighten its beauty and hide the ravages of time, is quite another matter. It survives to the present day, but luckily it is much less common in this country than it was a few years ago. It does not, however, seem to have been at all in vogue in England until the Middle Ages, though cosmetics and false complexions were made use of by ladies in Roman times.

Fairholt[42] quotes from an old French poem of the thirteenth century which describes the wares of a mercer who declares, "I have cotton with which they rouge, and whitening with which they whiten themselves." The cotton took the place of the hare's foot that is now used in making up, to rub colour on the cheeks.

At this point we might consider patches, the use of which made it possible to ornament the skin with patterns that could be removed at will. These patches came into fashion in Charles I's reign, but were banned by the Puritans. As soon, however, as Charles II came into his own again, they made their appearance once more, and took various fantastic shapes: owls, rings, crescents, and crowns; a coach and horses was particularly fashionable, and in the time of Queen Anne it was possible to tell the political views of fashionable ladies by their faces and their fans. Party feeling ran very high at this time, and those who were neutral wore patches on both cheeks, a Whig lady on the right side only, while a High Church Tory dame only adorned the left, and she wore suspended from her wrist a fan on which was depicted a scene from the trial of Dr. Sacheverell at Westminster Hall.

Red and white paint was at the same time universally employed by women of fashion, who, as Miss Helen Gordon[43] says, had perforce to keep their lovers at a respectful distance, lest a kiss "snatched by a forward one might transfer the complexion of the mistress to the admirer." The untimely decease of more than one famous beauty was attributed to the paint with which she besmeared her countenance, a notable instance being the death of Lady Coventry, whose husband had been wont to chase her round the dinner-table in his determined efforts to remove the deleterious compound from her face with his serviette. According to Walpole, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu used the cheapest white paint obtainable, and left it so long on her skin that it had literally to be scraped off. It may be inferred that these fine ladies rarely washed; but "the age was careless in that respect, personal cleanliness at a discount, and the essence pot consequently in great demand."

We spoke just now of fans, which can, perhaps, be considered an article of dress as they are very often fastened to the person. There seems no doubt but that at first fans did not close, and were made of feathers like those still in use in the East from whence they are derived. Probably in the beginning, leaves were used as fans, and palm-leaf fans are still to be seen. Fans were in general use in the sixteenth century, and the folding one appeared in the next.

Sometimes, as at the end of the eighteenth century, large green fans, called sunshades, were used out of doors in the same way as a modern parasol now is. There is another use of the fan still to be noted in China, namely, for blowing up a fire, and from this we no doubt get the expression of "fanning the flame."

Painting apparently was not only practised by women, for male courtiers at the end of the sixteenth century occasionally coloured their faces. If we are to believe some of the writers in the newspapers of to-day, men of leisure are not a whit better nor less foolish now.

Of masks as an ordinary everyday addition to costume we have no survivals, except in connection with some balls and an occasional burglary; but masks such as we see on the 5th of November will remind us, like the face of the clown, of primitive face-painting, and also of the many curious head-dresses and masks which savages wear at certain ceremonies and dances. It is easy to produce grotesque effects by means of masks, and the discomfort that would arise from the paint is thereby avoided.

The practice of wearing masks, and indeed dominoes, by private individuals came from Venice. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries masks made of black satin and velvet often formed part of the toilet of society ladies. At one period the wearing of them was restricted to the times of carnivals; at another, the nobility alone were allowed to use them, and now we only see masks at fancy-dress balls. Of the unwritten laws that rule the wearing of the mask, Mrs. Aria says[44]: "Whether worn privately or in public, its disguise has at all times and in all countries been respected as inviolably sacred. To the masked the greatest extravagance of language and gesture is permitted. He is allowed to indulge in acrid personalities and proclaim scathing truths, which, even if addressed to the monarch himself, go unrebuked. To strike a mask is a serious offence, while in no class of society, however degraded, would any one dare to unmask a woman. Yet another prerogative entitles the masked to invite any woman present, whether masked or not, to dance with him, etiquette decreeing that the queen of the land may not claim exemption from this rule. Dear to romance is the masked highwayman, who flourished until the advent of railways robbed him of his occupation; and a grim figure is ever the masked headsman."