![]() Plague doctors may have been immediately recognizable, but until the rise of the germ theory of disease and modern antibiotics, their costumes didn’t provide real protection against the disease. Snowden, “the therapeutic strategies of early modern plague doctors did little to prolong life, relieve suffering, or effect a cure.” “Unfortunately,” writes historian Frank M. Ultimately, the plague doctors’ outfits-and methods-didn’t make much of a difference. ![]() ( What is a pandemic-and why does it matter?) 561 the Black Death, which wiped out up to a third of Europeans between 13 and continued with intermittent outbreaks as late as 1879 and the Third Pandemic, which ravaged much of Asia between 18. Three horrific plague pandemics swept across the globe before its cause was ultimately uncovered-the Plague of Justinian, which killed up to 10,000 people a day circa A.D. What is plague? How many people died from the Black Death and the other plague pandemics? Learn about the bacterium behind the plague disease, how factors like trade and urbanization caused it to spread to every continent except Antarctica, and how three devastating pandemics helped shape modern medicine. In fact, plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, bacteria that can be transmitted from animals to humans and through flea bites, contact with contaminated fluid or tissue, and inhalation of infectious droplets from sneezing or coughing people with pneumonic plague. De Lorme thought the beak shape of the mask would give the air sufficient time to be suffused by the protective herbs before it hit plague doctors’ nostrils and lungs. Plague doctors filled their masks with theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs and other components like viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey. Sweet and pungent perfumes were thought to be able to fumigate plague-stricken areas and protect the smeller nosegays, incense, and other perfumes were common in the era. In the times before the germ theory of disease, physicians believed that the plague spread through poisoned air that could create an imbalance in a person’s humors, or bodily fluids. ( Memories of the plague resonate in Venice during the coronavirus pandemic.)īut the forbidding ensemble was not just a deathly fashion statement: It was intended to protect the doctor from miasma. Though plague doctors across Europe wore these outfits, the look was so iconic in Italy that the "plague doctor" became a staple of Italian commedia dell’arte and carnival celebrations-and is still a popular costume today. Their head gear was particularly unusual: Plague doctors wore spectacles, de Lorme continued, and a mask with a nose “half a foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the enclosed further along in the beak.” Plague doctors also carried a rod that allowed them to poke (or fend off) victims. He described an outfit that included a coat covered in scented wax, breeches connected to boots, a tucked-in shirt, and a hat and gloves made of goat leather. ![]() The costume is usually credited to Charles de Lorme, a physician who catered to the medical needs of many European royals during the 17th century, including King Louis XIII and Gaston d'Orléans, son of Marie de Médici. Our products are unique handmade pieces therefore all the images are indicative, as well as the measurements and colours that may be subject to variations.Please be respectful of copyright. This Plague Doctor Mask, also available in the classic version, is decorated entirely by hand by expert decorators according to the most traditional and ancient technique of Venetian masks. Given the relevance in the collective imagination and for what it represented, this mask certainly could not be missed among the masks of the Venice carnival. In fact, the beak served as an air filter, in which perfumed essences such as mint or lavender, usually soaked in vinegar, were inserted. This mask was designed to isolate the face allowing breathing. A continuous search to give immortality to the masks and the art of masks making Venetian Mask Plague Doctor Mask with Drawing of Doctor Itself Roberto is committed to mixing tradition with technology and innovation in products in the manufacturing phases. Silvia, daughter of art, she was able to stubbornly blend the tradition handed down by her parents with the characteristics of modern materials to create masks that bring tradition into the future. ![]() The plague (later called the black death. There are plagues, and there are victims, and it is the duty of good men not to join forces with the plagues. Beak), a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome. Even today the "Master mask maker" creates "his" masks with the same passion and intensity. The seventeenth-century plague doctor’s hazmat suit. Gianni is a creative mind and unstoppable forge of ideas, he founded the laboratory in 1970. This mask is created by Gianni, Silvia and Roberto
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