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Where Does the Red Carpet Come from？
It denotes stratospheric status， style and opulence.1 It conjures up glitz and glamour.2 It is the focus of the contemporary Oscars experience and the mainstay of today’s awards ceremonies， gala events and premieres around the world.3 The iconic red carpet sets the movie stars who step on it apart from us mere mortals.4
It was ever thus. In its earliest known incarnation the red carpet was not intended for ordinary folk.5 A path of dark red tapestries was rolled out in ancient Greece， in the Aeschylus play Agamemnon， when the King’s vengeful wife Clytemnestra prepares for the triumphant welcome home of her husband from the Trojan War.6 Even the King hesitates to walk on the “crimson7 path” laid before him， because he is “a mortal， a man” and not a god. “I cannot trample upon these tinted splendours without fear thrown in my path，”8 he says—and indeed he comes to a sorry end soon after setting foot on it.
In Renaissance art， red carpets and rugs appeared frequently， usually Oriental and intricately patterned in style， and were seen in paintings of deities， saints and royalty.9 Why was that？ “Red as a colour has long been associated with prestige， royalty and aristocracy，” says Sonnet Stanfill， senior curator at the Victoria
It denotes stratospheric status， style and opulence.1 It conjures up glitz and glamour.2 It is the focus of the contemporary Oscars experience and the mainstay of today’s awards ceremonies， gala events and premieres around the world.3 The iconic red carpet sets the movie stars who step on it apart from us mere mortals.4
It was ever thus. In its earliest known incarnation the red carpet was not intended for ordinary folk.5 A path of dark red tapestries was rolled out in ancient Greece， in the Aeschylus play Agamemnon， when the King’s vengeful wife Clytemnestra prepares for the triumphant welcome home of her husband from the Trojan War.6 Even the King hesitates to walk on the “crimson7 path” laid before him， because he is “a mortal， a man” and not a god. “I cannot trample upon these tinted splendours without fear thrown in my path，”8 he says—and indeed he comes to a sorry end soon after setting foot on it.
In Renaissance art， red carpets and rugs appeared frequently， usually Oriental and intricately patterned in style， and were seen in paintings of deities， saints and royalty.9 Why was that？ “Red as a colour has long been associated with prestige， royalty and aristocracy，” says Sonnet Stanfill， senior curator at the Victoria