Lace Masquerade Mask
$3.30 / Sold Out
Brand new lace masquerade mask
Simple clean design. Great looking mask for costume parties.
Masquerade masks were earliest worn as part of a costume during Carnival season in the fifteenth century. Venetian masks were the focal point of costumed masquerade balls. Outdoor public gardens provided a location in which masked characters could mingle and partake in behaviour that was otherwise unallowable at court. In addition to unseemly behavior, drinking, and gambling at such parties, certain masquerade balls made a game out of identifying the guest behind the mask. The goal of these events was to dress in such a way as to be unidentifiable.
The most popular masquerade ball of the 20th century was in 1951 at Palazzo Labia in Venice. This event was dubbed “the party of the century”. The events focused on the celebration of marriage for royalty. It was Charles VI of France who held the Bal des Ardents in celebration of his marriage. Courtiers dressed in costumes made from flax and pitch so that as they danced around like wild men while their costumes would catch fire on nearby torches adding to the entertainment value.
Masquerades became commonplace in Italy during the Renaissance. Members of the upper class in Venice were the most prominent group to use the masks publicly. After the fall of Venice the tradition was picked up throughout other areas of Europe. It was Gustav III of Sweden who was assassinated at a masquerade, a historical moment which provided the backdrop for the opera Gustave III.
These masks have been revived in recent years and now offer the wearer the same mysterious and freeing feelings that elite classes of old once enjoyed on very special occasions.
One of the most famous references to the Masquerade Ball is the original book and musical adaption of The Phantom of the Opera wherein a scene takes place during a masked ball. It is during this event that the Phantom wears the Red Death costume from the story The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe.
Other references include the film Marie Antoinette where the queen and her cohorts relieve themselves of royal duty under cover of the mask, and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where the two meet at a masquerade ball.