Doctor Schnabel (i.e., Dr. Beak), a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome. Some plague doctors wore a special costume. The garments were invented by Charles de L'Orme in 1620 and were first used in Naples, but later spread to be used throughout Europe. The protective suit consisted of a light, waxed fabric overcoat, a mask with glass eye openings and a beak shaped nose, typically stuffed with herbs, straw, and spices. Plague doctors would also commonly carry a cane to examine and direct patients without the need to make direct contact with the patient. The scented materials included juniper berry, ambergris, roses (Rosa), mint (Mentha spicata L.) leaves, camphor, cloves, laudanum, myrrh, and storax. Due to the primitive understanding of disease at the time, it was believed this suit would sufficiently protect the doctor from miasma while tending to patients.
Group
Flat Figure(s)
Condition
unpainted
Scale
Size 30 mm
Material
Pewter-Alloy 55%Sn 39%Pb 6%Sb
Time
um 1650
Not a toy! Not suitable for children under the age of 14!
Berliner Zinnfiguren e. K. Werner Scholtz Knesebeckstr. 88 10623 Berlin - Charlottenburg Deutschland
