Barony of Mordenvale

A&S Basic Documentation Form

Name of Entrant:
Event:

Taysia della Vuenta (Mundane: Raquel Cameron)

Walka Water Works Much Ado About Nothing.

Place And Date:

th

Walka Water Works. 12 February 2005.

What is the item?: A mask.

What is it used for?: First and foremost it was used to disguise oneself. The use of the mask
became important each year in Venice as an important social purpose of keeping every citizen on an
equal playing field. Masked, a servant could be mistaken for a nobleman - or vice versa. State
inquisitors and spies could question citizens without fear of their true identity being discovered (and
citizens could answer without fear of retribution). The morale of the people was maintained through
the use of masks - for with no faces, everyone had voices.(1)
From what time period does your item date from?: I have based my mask on the Venetian period
of carnivale. As I have used a combination of papier-mache and stiffened linen I would have to say
th
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that I fit my mask into a timeline of approximately late 14 15 Century. The history of the Venetian
carnivale dates from 1162.
The Republic defeated Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia in that year, and began a tradition of
slaughtering a bull and 12 pigs in the Piazza San Marco around Shrove Tuesday to commemorate
the victory. This celebration gradually grew and 1268 dates the first document mentioning the use
of masks. (2)

"Il Guercino". Painted by Gian Francesco Barbieri, from Cento. (a)

The current day carnivale is based on the events of meat. HUH, I hear you say What has that got to
do with masks? The word carnivale comes from the Latin for "Farewell, meat! As Lent (which begins
on Ash Wednesday) obliged people to fast, during the period up to Ash Wednesday all meat, butter
and eggs had to be used up. This religious formality became the excuse for a party that echoed
pagan festivities. In late Rome Saturnalia and Lupercalia were moments when licentiousness and
wantonry were celebrated - a deliberate upturning of the usual social order. Christianity licensed a
comparable period of celebration from Twelfth Night until the midnight of Shrove Tuesday. (2)
Hence the use of masks became a part of the carnival tradition and is still in practise today. Why?
Well, as the streets of Venice did not always provide enough space for autonomy, masks became a
device for hiding behind; in a sense, the "mask" became an outlet for many to depart from the
mainstream life they were leading.(3)

How/Methods/Techniques/Materials:
In carnivale Venice masks took on many forms. The history of the Venetian mask and the techniques
used are mostly hearsay, based on records from journals and accounts. It is assumed that a form of
papier-mache and stiffened linen were two of the main materials used to form the masks, as well as
wood, clay and leather. As the first two (my choice for materials) easily decayed, there are hardly any
accounts of intact or partial masks being found in burial sites or archaeological digs.
As linen (both course and fine) and paper products or pulp were easy to come by all classes it can
safely be assumed that these materials would have been used. For my glue I used flour and water. I
must admit that when it came to the linen layers I did have to add some PVC glue to my mixture in
order to get the fabric to stiffen into the shape and stay! However, I can almost account for my use of
this modern glue, as records do show the use of gums and cellulose paste PVC?
Twycross and Carpenter report on the Lichfield Jousts and Revels of 1348, which used "sindon
afforciatus," also known as strengthened sindon ("sindon" is a term for fine linen or silk). It could
have been stiffened with wax to become "cerecloth," or it could have been stiffened with sizing or
glue, allowing it to be stretched over a mould for shaping. (4)
The mask itself was created upon a mould, usually made from wood or other hard material. As a cost
and time saver I used a pre made mask form that I purchased at Spotlight. It served as a perfect
substitute while still following tradition methodology.
Paints used were traditionally pigment mixtures using natural dyes from plants and other earthly
sources. I used acrylic paints simply because of availability and with the knowledge that natural
pigments are more often than not toxic.
Steps taken to produce my mask:
1. Deciding upon type, shape and general appeal.
I decided upon a natural theme for my mask. I have a liking for leaves and leaves would
have been present in medieval times. DUH! Trees grew then just as they do today hence they may
have even been used for adorning the whole costume that went with the mask. Linking today with
the past I designed a leaf shaped mask with the full face incorporated into the centre.
2. And so it begins.
I did begin a mask using a half face and clay as my mould, but
unfortunately it failed. My second attempt was much better. I began by
cutting out my desired shape in paper and began building upon it
using strips of paper and my glue mixture.
3. I covered the mask with Vaseline and then began to papier-mache
the facial area. Once dried I decided that the paper was still not strong
enough and began layering with fine linen and course linen strips to
finish the building of the mask shape. Once dried the eyes etc were
cut out and the mask prepared for painting.
(b)

(b)

(b)

4. Painting the mask.

This is the fun part for me. I was able to creatively paint the mask to
look like a leaf with the face mask in the centre. I finished by adding a wooden
stalk to hold onto. This also offered extra stability and strength to the mask.

(b)
I used the following masks as a basis for my idea. (Sources Unknown)

Conclusions:
I learnt from this exercise that I do not do things the easy way I cant just be simple. But I think that
it would not be a challenge for me if I did take the easy road. My first change would be to make the
mask smaller it was a little oversized! Secondly, I found it difficult to make the linen strips stick and
mould properly. This surprised me as I believed that the weave of fabric would make the perfect basis
for mask making; that it would provide a stronger result than paper. Although it dried strong the paper
proved much less time consuming to work with and in my eyes was just as effective if not more so. I
can now understand why their masks were fairly simple. Time and constraints of materials would
have limited the ability for an over the top mask not to mention carrying the thing around all
dayAlthough the shape of my mask is lovely I could not imagine having to carry it around
continuously in a carnivale atmosphere. Hitching up my skirt with one hand whilst keeping my identity
hidden would have proved almost impossible.
Sources of Information/Bibliography:
: Literary References.
(1) History - Mask Italia. http://www.maskitalia.com/maskhistory.htm
(2) Venices Carnival - Venices Tourist Information Website.
http://www.visitvenice.co.uk/venice-carnival.html
(3) Venetian Carnival Masks. AnyMask.com. http://www.anymask.com/masksofvenice1.html
(4) Festival Masks. Made from stiffened linen Festival Faces.
http://members.aol.com/festivalfaces/docs.html
: Pictoral References.
(a) http://www.carnevalecento.com/sitoeng/02storia/text.htm
(b) Pictures of mask progress and finished mask by Raquel Cameron.