Roman Masks

Roman Masks

References:

ROSE, C. BRIAN, and MARIANNE LOVINK. "Recreating Roman Wax Masks." Expedition 56.3 (2014): 34-37. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Gow, A. S. F. "On the Use of Masks in Roman Comedy." The Journal of Roman Studies 1912: 65. JSTOR Journals. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.


Drama Masks:

The beginnings of theatre originated from a religious ritual to Dionysus. The festival took place in April and four plays would be done every day in the early morning. Masks were extremely important during plays because they had several functions. Masks were needed to amplify the voice of the actor. Also, the masks helped to demonstrate to the audience which character was being played at a specific moment. In addition, drama masks helped encouraged actors to emphasize the mood of a character: "Thus an actor, even if prevented by a mask from exhibiting any play of facial expression, could express many moods by gesture and movement" (Gow). Sophocles, the author of Oedipus, was one of the more renowned dramatist. Theatre began in Rome when the Romans attempted to copy the Greeks. The Romans did fairly well and surpassed the the Greeks in their adaptation of comical plays. However, Greeks were known for having better tragedies. Masks were created out of clay, sometimes bronze or other materials would be used too. Openings for the eyes and mouth would be carved out or forged to allow for the actor to see and clearly speak.

Funeral Masks

Masks in Rome had many other roles. The Romans created masks built out of wax for funerals. These masks were usually used during aristocratic processions. The wax masks were of high quality and looked real. High standing Roman families would hire actors to wear these wax masks and play the part of the deceased person's ancestors during the funeral. These masks were referred to as "death masks" (Rose, Lovink) and were created for members of aristocratic families who had attained a high status in society. Wax masks would only be fabricated for men.

Creating a plaster mold is the first step needed to create a death mask. This step would "have involved strips of linen soaked in plaster that were carefully applied across the face, including the eyes and mouth, but not the nostrils" (Rose, Lovink). In order to stop the mold from sticking to the face olive oil or fat would be applied to the members face and all his facial hair (except for the eyebrows) would be removed. Afterwards, the plaster would be covered by heated/liquid beeswax until the thickness of the wax reached 6mm. The plaster would then be removed and openings would be cut for both the eyes and mouth. Lastly, the death mask would be painted.