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Italian Venetian Mask - Black Swan, Venice Italy
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Italian Venetian Mask - Black Swan, Venice Italy
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This elegant and dramatic mask is a fantasy mask of a Black Swan, called Cignetta in Italian. Black highlighted designs suggestive of Italian decorative patterns are hand painted across the face. On one side, the extravagant cut black pattern is suggestive of the feathers of the swan, the entire pattern highlighted with shining faux diamonds which subtlety accentuate the dramatic upsweep of the cut pattern.
The unfathomable magnitude of the wealth of the Republic gave Venice a unique position in European history. For 800 years, the Venetian Republic essentially ruled the wealth and finance of the European world and a unique culture of wearing dramatic, whimsical and amusing masks developed. Mask wearing became a part of everyday life and both the nobility and the poor wore masks to conceal their identity, perform business deals in secret, hide disfigurement from the plague, and simply for fun and pleasure. Many of the masks were inspired by Commedia dell'Arte characters of the day, but masks were also created and designed purely for the Venetian Mask Culture. Certain masks were associated with particular personality traits such as the Black Mask which was associated with political intrigue and mysterious plots, and signaled to others that the wearer intended to break taboos and indulge in various debaucheries. Many masks were inspired by historical characters or sprang from the imagination of the mask artist, such as this Black Swan mask. You're welcome to read more about this mask, the history of Venice and the Venetian Mask Culture at . Preserving Cultural Heritage The artists who create our Venetian Masks work in Venice and Verona, the traditional mask making centers for the Venetian Mask Culture for 800 years. During the height of the Mask Culture, the designs for the Masks came from several sources - the characters of Commedia dell'Arte theater; specific mask shapes that developed over time and were worn for daily activities; historical figures; and fantasy masks which sprang from the imagination of the artist. These are the same themes used by our artists today, and because they live and work in Venice, they constantly absorb new inspirations for designs from all the art, architecture and history that is unique to the magnificent city. Every mask is entirely handmade by individual artists, some working with family members. The face molds for each mask have been created by hand and each mask is then individually decorated with paints, glass beading, gold trim and specialty items such as the tarot cards and musical sheets. The traditional shapes such as the Plague Doctor or the Zanni masks have been developed over centuries and are strictly adhered to. The decorative effects of the masks in our Collection spring entirely from the artistic genius of the individual artist, just as fantasy masks were created for the nobility and the populace during the Venetian Republic when mask making and wearing were a normal part of everyday life. This mask comes ready to wear or can be hung on the wall for an elegant and pretty display of Venetian Culture. A nice partner mask for wall display would be the another of the delicate female masks such as the MI-MR100B in complimentary silver or the MI-MF100GR-Pointed in contrasting red. 
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