An Ancient Dressmaker'S Bill

Among the documents which have lately been discovered in Chaldea is a tablet which may be well called "the oldest dressmaker's bill in the world." It was the custom of the Babylonian kings to present to the temples sets of robes for the use of the priests and priestesses. This was usually done every year. Many of these lists are in the British Museum. The oldest hitherto known has been that of a king, about 1450 B. C. But the document now discovered is much older. The tablet is of limestone, and was discovered in the ruins of a temple in the city of Nipur, in southern Chaldea. This temple was dedicated to the "ghost god," and had a large priesthood attached to it. From the style of the writing, which is extremely archaic, and from the curious system of numerals employed, the tablet cannot be of later date than 2800 B. C. It contains a list of ninety-two vestments which were presented to the temple by the king. The name of the king is, unfortunately, not given. The inscription ends with the words: "In all, ninety-two vestments, the bill (list) of the temple for the priests this year." Many of the words are unknown and are doubtless technical terms employed by the modistes of that period. Among the items are "Twelve white robes of the temple, eight robes of the house of his lady, ten collars of the house of his lady ten pure gold collars, two white robes." One item of especial interest occurs near the end-"Four scented robes." This reminds us of the passage in Psalm XLV., speaking of the robes redolent of "myrrh and aloes and cassia." It was, no doubt, the custom in Babylonia to perfume the robes, as it is to this day in Persia and India. This document is of value as showing the great development which had taken place in the textile arts in Chaldea even at that early period.