Allonge wig
A full-bottomed wig ( [alɔːʒ-] ) is a langlockige and large wig for men from the period around 1665-1715.
etymology
Allonge stands for “extension” or “appendage” in the French language . An allonge is also a sheet of paper stuck to a bill of exchange for attaching endorsements .
Appearance
An allonge wig goes over the shoulder to about the chest. From the center parting, the curls fall down on both sides. The material used was human or animal hair, depending on quality and price. All naturally occurring hair colors were represented, as well as white or gray powdered. Under the wig, the hair was often cut short or shorn.
history
The first mention of wigs was under Louis XIII. of France around the year 1630. Since long hair was considered a sign of dignity at court, but the ruler almost completely lost his natural hair at a young age, he had an artificial replacement made. His successor Louis XIV probably developed the actual form of the allonge and named the allonge wig in 1673 as a state wig, after which it was distributed throughout Europe.
At the same time, syphilis was rampant in Europe , causing skin changes and hair loss, among other things. "You can see so many people shaved with love," scoffed a contemporary, "and without a razor." The allonge wig, like the clothes and make-up of that time, served to hide the repulsive external manifestations of syphilis.
In the course of the following years and decades, the classic dark-colored wig became lighter and more colorful until the beginning of the Rococo . In its last form, the allonge wig was already completely white (e.g. with Voltaire ). In rococo clothing fashion from around 1730 the allonge wig was completely out of use, except for official costumes . Only judges , university rectors and the nobility carried it for several decades.
As early as 1700, on the other hand, wigs powdered white (with flour) with mostly horizontally arranged curls appeared, as they were then worn by the European nobility in the Rococo, including Louis XV. and his successor Louis XVI.
In the United Kingdom and Australia, however, the allonge wig is still part of the judge's vestments .
literature
- Jochen Luckhardt , Regine Marth (Ed.): Splendor of curls and rulers. Wigs as a status symbol and fashion accessory. Exhibition in the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig, May 10th to July 30th, 2006. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-7338-0344-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ To die before dawn . In: Der Spiegel . No. 40 , 1985 ( online - 30 September 1985 ).