Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/242

196 Tragical, Comical, Satirical, each of which was in turn subdivided as follows:—


 * 1) Eight masks of old men, typifying differences of age, rank, humour, etc.
 * 2) A series of eleven masks of young men.
 * 3) Seven varieties of masks of slaves.
 * 4) Eighteen masks of women.

In addition to the above, the masks depicting gods and heroes were. placed in a separate category. These never varied, and each displayed the attributes of the deity portrayed. Thus Actæon appeared with the antlers of a deer, Argus with a hundred eyes, Diana with a crescent; and so on. The earliest masks were fashioned from wood fibre, which in due time gave place to leather, and finally to wax.

In Rome the art of mask-making was further elaborated. Trades and professions were distinctively personated. Double-faced masks were introduced, one side representing laughter and the other tears, so that by turning his right or left profile to the audience, the actor could change his expression at will.

Among the Romans the use of the mask was not restricted to the theatre. It was worn in processions, and at certain festivals, notably those dedicated to Pan, where masks of vine leaves were customary. A strange funeral rite consisted of a performance given by a comedian wearing a mask made in the likeness of the defunct. This mummer's mission was to follow the coffin, acting and reciting the salient filatures of the dead man's career, impartially setting forth both the good and the bad.

In the reign of Augustus, patrician ladies were