Page 40 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK

Through History

MASKS

From Neolithic limestone faces to mass-produced plastic guises, the

history of the mask spans millennia, cultures, uses and meanings

It’s thought these
RITUAL MASK C.6900 BCE masks were sculpted
by early farmers
The earliest masks in human history are over 9,000 years old,
found in Israel. They show human features carved out of limestone,
and are believed to be portraits of important ancestors. Experts
think these symbols of genealogy may have been used to prove
land ownership, but are believed to have also had an important
spiritual connection and been used in ancestral cult rituals. Nine
millennia later, ritual masks of all kinds are used by tribes and
cults around the globe, with a similar spiritual significance. They
enable the wearer to assume a new identity, enhancing their
connection to a spiritual world as a medium of transformation.
Note that the expression of the mask
changes with a slight tilt of the head THEATRICAL

Carnival masks
are a centuries-old MASK 5TH CENTURY BCE
tradition in Venice
The use of a mask to cover the face has been a part
of theatre for thousands of years, and the ancient
Greeks incorporated masks into performance as
CARNIVAL MASK 1268 well as ceremonial ritual and worship of Dionysus
Carnivalseasonisaperiodofrevelrybefore – the god of wine. There are many theatre forms
the austerity of Lent. The word comes from throughout history that have used highly stylised
the Medieval Latin ‘carnelevarium’, meaning masks, such as the Japanese theatrical art of Noh,
‘toremovemeat’,andinItalyit’sthoughtthe which dates back to the 13th century. The Noh
seasonmaybelinkedtotheRomanfestivalof masks are carved from cypress wood and are
Saturnalia.Oneofthemostfamousandmost very simple yet beautiful, designed to subtly show
resplendent carnivals is in Venice, where the character traits of five types: gods, demons, men,
traditional flamboyant masks were made from women and the elderly.
leather and porcelain. The masks enable the Ancient Egyptians
wearerstonotonlyconcealtheiridentitiesbut made death masks
so the soul could
to assume another entirely, with traditional LIFE AND DEATH MASKS 3000 BCE recognise the body
characters inspired by the masks of the Italian These masks are casts of a person’s face. Death and return after death
theatreformcommediadell’arte. masks were taken using plaster or wax, and were
used to preserve the person’s features as a token of
remembrance. They also provided a likeness to use as a
HALLOWEEN MASK 1900S reference for portraits and sculptures, especially funeral
effigies for royalty and nobility.
Wearing fancy dress on Halloween In contrast, without photography, a life mask
began in the USA, where people was the best way to capture the
of all social classes celebrated the look of a person’s identity.
holiday. In the early 1900s, people The first people to make Charles
used masks of papier-mâché to death masks were the de Lorme
dress up in a ghostly fashion before Ancient Egyptians, FRENCH 1584-1678
mass-produced costumes arrived in the most famous Physician to French King Louis XIII
and Gaston d’Orléans, Charles De de
the 1930s. One of the most famous being King Lorme was concerned with the spread of
Halloween masks is from the movie Tutankhamun’s bubonic plague as it ravaged populations
Scream: a plastic mask made by the burial mask. across Europe. He is credited with
company Fun World. It may have been the invention of the plague doctors’
suit in 1619, a garb that was used
discovered hanging on the wall of an old The ‘Ghostface’ mask from the Scream
throughout Europe despite
house by one of the film’s producers while movie was based on Edvard Munch’s its effectiveness being
scouting locations for another movie, who composition called The Scream unproven.
decided it was perfect for the film.
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