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- The Plague Doctor
The Plague Doctor
The Plague Doctor by artist Lisa Lofton
The plague doctor mask, hat, and goggles are now a wonderful steam-punk adornment. The original plague doctors associated with the bubonic plague wore these costumes for specific reasons. The costume consists of a leather hat, mask with glass eyes and a beak, stick to remove clothes of a plague victim, gloves, waxed linen robe, and boots. The typical mask had red glass openings (thought to help keep evil spirits at bay) for the eyes and a curved beak shaped like a bird's beak with straps that held the beak in front of the doctor's nose. The mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator that contained aromatic herbs or dried flowers. The mask's purpose was to keep away bad smells such as decaying bodies, and the smell taken with the most caution was known as miasma, a noxious form of "bad air." This was thought to be the principal cause of the disease.
Details
Original Work
Artist Lisa Lofton
16 x 15 inches
Mixed Media
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