So let’s through each step of the process of producing high quality handmade wigs, and show the real costs.

Firstly, take the acquisition of hair. The cost of hair for one wig (0,2 – 0,4 kg) varies from 30 to 40 USD throughout most Eastern European countries. There is little variation there, but an important additional cost is incurred by high-quality wig-makers who collect hair in an appropriate and well-controlled way. The best wig-makers visit hairdressers and care for the hair themselves, using no middleman. They do not buy hair from wholesalers because wholesalers blend hair, because it is so time-consuming to acquire really good hair.

Second, take the other materials used in making wigs. These are not expensive and their costs do not exceed 50 USD for a typical wig. These are the materials used to produce a cap. More and more wig-makers are now buying ready-made caps, so called “monofilament”, which are gaining popularity and their cost is not very high.

Third, take the labor involved in making high quality handmade wigs. This is the main cost factor. Handmade wig needs at least a week to be produced by an experienced expert worker. It takes a week of hard work, with each hair being knitted to the cap with a very small crochet-needle or glued with a special glue. In the case of long hair, the production time could be two to three weeks. Reliable wig-makers knit hair with a double-knot which makes the construction much more durable but needs some extra work-time. Depending on the type of wig, length of hair and type of cap the cost of labor is from 150 to 300 USD.

Finally, you cannot forget other typical business costs like investment’s amortization, management costs, taxes, insurances, rent, and profit. Altogether, the price of a handmade human hair wig made from European hair cannot be lower than 500-600 USD even for the shortest hair. There is no upper limit and it only depends on how much a customer is willing to pay, but before you pay 1000 USD or more for your wig remember the real costs of its creation.

Romanesque Art was considered an early phase of the Gothic Art. It refers to the style prevalent in the Western Europe from tenth to twelfth century. The Romanesque Art peaked between 1075 AD and 1125 AD, in France, Italy, Britain, and the German fiefdoms. Romanesque Art was all about architectural, pictorial, and decorative styles, which literally means, “in the style of the Romans.” Romanesque Art also has some occasional traces of Byzantine, Carolingian, Antique, and Eastern Art, especially in paintings. Romanesque Painting is strongly related to the Byzantine and late classical painting tradition, which had survived the barbarian invasions during several centuries. The ‘Insular Art’ of British Isles too had its role to play.

Close more to ‘Abstraction’ than ‘Realism,’ Romanesque Paintings have a marked didactic character and they are used almost exclusively for religious purposes. “Christ in Majesty,” “Last Judgment,” “Christ’s Life,” “Four Evangelists,” “Gospel Books,” “apostles,” “prophets,” “Apocalypse,” “Noah’s Ark,” were the key themes portrayed. Blue-green, yellow ochre, reddish-brown, and black were the colors mostly used. Most of these paintings decorated the large wall surfaces and the plain, curving vaults of the Romanesque period. Mural painting percolated in well, especially in England, France, Serbia, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Very few of these large wall paintings have survived due to wear and tear. Some of the remaining frescoes can be found in the “Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe” in Poitou, France and in the “Church of S. George” at Oberzell. The paintings of sacred figures and objects were also made on glass panes. The “Cathedral of Saint Denis” near Paris has several examples of such glass paintings.

Romanesque Art also included illuminated manuscripts. The “Book of the Bible” was the most important manuscript of the Romanesque period and several illuminated copies of it were made. Many different versions of Bibles, as “Winchester Bible” were also carried out and they were adorned with the scenes from both Old and the New Testaments. Other manuscript illumination that arose in England, like the “Lindisfarne Gospels,” were characterized by geometrically laced designs in capital letters, borders, and sometimes even on the entire page, which are often called carpet pages. The designs also frequently contained the representations of monstrous & grotesque human figures, birds, and beasts. There were several schools of manuscript illumination, developing distinct styles.

During Romanesque Period, wall paintings supplanted the church mosaics, with smoother forms and less aggressive designs. Romanesque Art reigned the West for almost around two centuries with its extraordinary creative richness, which even today is as captivating as it was then.