Portrait of a seated lady with a handkerchief and a little dog, by Francesco Montemezzano
The use of the handkerchief as we know it today, or to blow your nose in case of a cold or sudden sneezing, is surprisingly recent.
In fact, it dates back only to the last century, when hygiene rules became more severe and widespread.
Before that, the handkerchief, a more or less square piece of cloth, had above all an ornamental purpose.
It already existed in Greece and in Rome and was known as mappula.
It was actually a napkin that you carried with you when you went to a banquet, where it came in handy for taking home the leftovers of the meal.
In Ancient Rome the mappula, as is known, it was also thrown into the arena by the consul at the beginning of the gladiator games.
Basically nothing changed in the Middle Ages, centuries in which the handkerchief remained mostly a simple, but not very useful, tinsel.
The habit of encrypting the handkerchief with the initials of his name to personalize it was born in the 1600s.
In the 1700s, however, it was almost transformed into a ' weapon of seduction.
Coming out as if by magic from sleeves, pockets and generous necklines in which it was usually inserted, preferably packaged in a precious and embroidered fabric, if necessary it could be used to wipe the tears from the face of a beautiful and sad lady.
And so also in the nineteenth century, when the usual method for cleaning the nose still remained, as before, to sink it into the sleeve or hem of the dress you were wearing.