What New Year's Mask fits your Style?   by Ivy Davila

in Entertainment    (submitted 2011-01-17)

Masquerade masks were traditionally crafted in Italy to provide a look of diversion for the townfolk during festival season, and stuck on rapidly as, once hidden behind a mask, the gentlemen and women could openly mix with the commonfolk during the course of festivity. Old Italian law proclaimed the two classes were not authorized to associate, a law that, if violated could result in strict consequences. Despite the face of such consequence, the noblemen along with clergy would hide themselves and socialize alongside the commoners, doing their best to ferret out valuable political knowledge from them. The style for the masquerade mask could very well be as ordinary or as ornate as the maker could imagine. Because beads, ribbon and feathers were typically plentiful and lively, they were well known materials on masks. After their creation in Italy, the attraction of the masquerade mask dispersed rapidly globally.

Variations of Venetian Masks

There are five general Venetian mask types that are produced with leather, paper mache' or with the application of gesso and gold leaf. The Bauta mask, with its square jawline, sharp chin without any mouth, disguised the face for absolute anonymity. The Bauta is one of the earliest Venetian masks, whose true name is "Larva," which means ghost mask. The Bauta mask was created with a jutting beaked front, permitting its wearer to both eat and drink while staying masked-the design also modified the tone of the individual's voice, adding further to the mystery. The Bauta was usually either black or white and was the one mask that was not worn primarily at carnival times; it was actually compulsory for women to don the Bauta mask while enjoying an evening at the theater.

The beautiful black velvet oval mask, shown to enhance the female attributes, is known as a Moretta or Servetta Mutta, indicating a mute maid servant, possibly because the wearer was not able to speak a result of the mask's style. The Moretta mask originated in France but became quite the rage among Venetian women who wore it while visiting the convent, perhaps to help guarantee their silence. While the original Moretta mask was kept in place through a button clenched between the wearer's teeth, modern Moretta masks use ties.

The Larva or Volto masquerade mask is almost all white, and usually worn along with a three cornered hat to finish the outfit. Like the Bauta, the contour of the mask permitted the user to breathe and drink, in this case there was no necessity to take it off and expose one's identity. The Larva masks were constructed with fine wax cloth, and were fairly lightweight, rendering them suitable for eating, dancing-and flirting!

The Columbino mask was a half-mask, held up onto the face using a baton or attached with a ribbon. It was a gorgeous actress from the sixteenth century who influenced the Columbino; it had been reported that she considered herself too beautiful to mask her whole face. Combine masks can be ornamented with fur, feathers, jewels, gold, silver and crystals.

The Medico Della Peste mask (The Plague Doctor). A French Physician named Charles de Lorme was the mask's developer who genuinely designed the mask as a preventative measure for caring for patients with the plague. Medico Della Peste is a complete full-faced mask which features a protracted, narrow, hollow beak. These masks are usually completely white, with round eye holes adorned with crystal discs.

The Domino mask is typically a small rounded mask covering merely the eyes as well as the space between them; Venetian Carnival masks were often called domini basically because they resembled French priests' winter hoods, being black on the outside and white in the interior. The domino mask is just like the masquerade mask, yet lacks the elaborations and decoration.

The most common colors for the masks were often bright oranges, reds, blues and greens, with darker colors customarily selected for the men's full-face mask. Masks are still widespread nowadays either during a Venetian carnival, an unconventional wedding, costume balls, or special festivals like Chinese New Year and Renaissance Fair. One of the most well known use is during the celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Masquerade masks are also commonly used as purely interesting items of artwork. New Year's Masquerade balls tend to be unbelievably popular celebration-after all, wearing a beautiful masquerade mask to welcome in the New Year just seems to go together! The preferred colors for New Year's parties tend to be black and white or black and silver, and many people use stick masks for these occasions as they can be donned intermittently. If you find yourself wanting to look really fashionable and classy this New Year's, consider the inclusion of a masquerade mask as part of your costume.

Ivy Davila spends most of her days writing at Frankel's Costume Blog . Check out the site for her other written work.

About the Author

Ivy Davila has covered topics ranging from theatre and stage makeup, magic, and everything costume related including their history and construction.