Moretta muta

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A woman with a moretta muta , Pietro Longhi , Das Rhinozeros , oil on canvas, 1751, Ca 'Rezzonico

When Moretta muta also Servetta muta was in Venice one with black in the 17th and the first half of the 18th century velvet referred related mask for women who, unlike other masks of this type, did not provide slit for the mouth. Instead, the "silent Mohrin" or "servant", as one could translate it, was held by a button on the inside of the mask, which the wearer held between the teeth. The wearer could not speak without losing the oval mask (hence muta ), but could hide her identity. This shape goes back to the French visard of the 15th century, a mask that was intended to protect French noble women from sunburn , but which, unlike the Moretta, completely covered the face. This type of masking went out of fashion after around 1760.

Detail view as part of a portrait

literature

  • Gilles Bertrand: Histoire du carnaval de Venise. XIe-XXIe siècle , Pygmalion, Paris 2013.
  • Art. Morèta , in: Giuseppe Boerio : Dizionario del dialetto veneziano , Venice 1829, p. 362 (brief definition).

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