Antiques and Collectables for Pleasure & Profit SUMMER 2013 | Page 11

at your fingertips
Nail fashion through
the ages
These days if you see someone wearing black nail polish it’s
probably because they’re a Goth,
but in ancient times black fingernails were an indication of
very high status. Warriors
would spend hours having their
hair curled and lacquered and
their nails manicured and dyed
black in preparation for war,
often tinting their lips to match.
The ancient Egyptians had a
strict hierarchy for nail colour.
Lower ranked women were only
allowed pastel shades and the
colour of the fingernails grew
deeper as the social scale got
higher, with the most brilliant
colours being reserved for the
queen herself. Queen Nefertiti
painted her finger and toenails
red, and Cleopatra used the
henna plant to dye hers a
deep rusty colour with gold
undertones.
During the Chou Dynasty
Chinese aristocrats applied gold
or silver to their nails, which
were allowed to grow as long as
possible to prove they were
people of leisure. They even
wore extended nail guards to
protect the nails.
Early manicures
Throughout the Middle Ages
the care of hands and nails was
pretty much ignored. It wasn’t
until the Renaissance that the
manicure was again adopted by
the aristocratic and wealthy
women of Europe, performed
using a simple manicure set
that was usually attached to a
cosmetic or sewing set and hung
from a belt or chatelaine. Care
of the nails was basic: shorten,
clean and polish the nails using
a special stick covered with
suede. By the 19th century the
menfolk were in on the act and
it was as popular amongst men
as women to take care of their
hands and nails. Toothpicks, ear
sticks and perfume bottles were
added to the basic manicure

implements, but it wasn’t until a
physician attending King Louis
XV removed an inflamed burr
from the king’s finger that a
manicure set was created for the
common people – and
embraced by the Victorians,
who were very keen