In 16th century France, these full masks were worn to protect the woman's face from the wind and sun. Kind of Silence of the Lambs creepy huh? I doubt ladies could breath or even speak very easily under these masks. But maybe that was the point.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Masked Lady
I found this great post over at Two Nerdy History Girls about 17th and 18th century masks. Below is a watercolor from Habits de France published in 1581.
In 16th century France, these full masks were worn to protect the woman's face from the wind and sun. Kind of Silence of the Lambs creepy huh? I doubt ladies could breath or even speak very easily under these masks. But maybe that was the point.
In 16th century France, these full masks were worn to protect the woman's face from the wind and sun. Kind of Silence of the Lambs creepy huh? I doubt ladies could breath or even speak very easily under these masks. But maybe that was the point.
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1 comment:
Mucho thanks for the link -- and for the illustration of the full mask! This is probably about 100 years earlier than the Restoration ones mentioned by Randle Holme, but I doubt they changed that much.
And yes, very creepy, in a B&D kind of way....
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