Mask of disgrace


Zagreb 18th century Iron sheet height 37.5 cm, width 21 cm Mask made out of thick iron sheet with a big opening for the mouth, a tongue behind which is a whistle, a nose depicted in relief, and eye-slits. Elongated ears and three horns on the sides. At the back rods for fastening the mask around the neck and head. The mask was found during excavations behind the railway station in Zagreb at the beginning of the 20th century. M. Sercer, Stari zagrebacki obrti, Zagreb, 1991, catalogue number 422. The mask of disgrace was worn by market-women punished for swearing, gossiping and similar offences in the 18th century.




HPM/PMH-002019