Ravenbeak Hand Made Leather Plague Doctor Mask with Brass Rimmed Lenses & Knotwork Brow Band | Halloween Costume Gift | RK-1524

A moulded black leather beak mask with a wide brass brow band engraved with interlaced knotwork, two brass rimmed lenses set into the eye openings, a pierced brass vent at the tip of the beak and brass buckle straps at the temple and jaw to hold it on the face. The leather is formed over a mould rather than cut and folded, so the beak holds its shape on its own, and the hand stitched seam runs down the centre of the nose where it belongs.

The costume it comes from has a firm date and a named inventor. Charles de Lorme, chief physician to Louis XIII, described the full outfit around 1619, a waxed leather coat, gauntlets, boots, a hat and a mask with a beak he specified should be about six inches long. The beak was not for show. It was packed with dried flowers, herbs, camphor and spices, because the medicine of the day held that plague travelled through corrupt air, and a nose full of sweet smelling material was believed to filter it. The theory was wrong and the coat probably did more good than the herbs ever did, by keeping fleas off the wearer. Formed, stitched, riveted and engraved in a Czech Republic workshop. The folded black cloth in the photograph is a studio prop and is not part of the order. If you are building a whole kit rather than buying one piece, our notes for reenactors cover what gets used and what sits in a box.

Specifications

How wet moulded leather holds a shape

The reason this mask has a face rather than a fold is a technique called wet moulding, and it only works with vegetable tanned leather. Vegetable tanning uses tannins from bark, which leave the fibre structure open. Soak that leather in water and the fibres relax and the hide becomes briefly plastic, so it can be pressed onto a wooden or resin form and worked down into every curve with hand tools. As it dries the fibres lock into the new arrangement and stay there. The leather becomes noticeably harder than it started, which is the same principle behind cuir bouilli, the hardened leather armour of the medieval period.

Chrome tanned leather, which is what most modern leather goods are made from, cannot do this. It is tanned with mineral salts, it stays soft, and a beak moulded from it would sag within a week. So when you see a leather mask that keeps a crisp edge, you are looking at vegetable tanned hide that has been wet formed, and when you see one that goes floppy, you are not.

The brass brow band does a structural job as well as a decorative one. The top edge of a mask is where it takes strain from the straps every time it is put on, and a rigid band spreads that pull across the whole forehead rather than letting it stretch two small points either side of the eyes.

The leather, the brass and what this mask does not do

The hide is around 6 to 7 ounce, roughly 2.4 to 2.8 mm, dyed through in black rather than surface painted, so a scuff shows dark instead of exposing pale leather underneath. The fittings are solid brass rather than plated, which matters on a piece worn against skin, because plating wears through at the buckle tongue first and then looks tired.

Now the honest part. This is a costume and display mask. It offers no respiratory protection of any kind, it filters nothing, it is not a respirator and it is not personal protective equipment. Do not wear it expecting it to do anything for your lungs. Vision through the lenses is restricted to roughly what you can see straight ahead, so do not drive, ride, cycle or operate machinery in it, and take it off before you use stairs in a crowd. Worn for its actual purpose, which is looking extraordinary at an event, it is superb.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the leather. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this mask the brass brow band already carries knotwork and that is what a chosen line replaces, and we can also emboss a short line into the leather along the side of the beak, which is subtler and reads well close up. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

The buckles cover a wide range of adult head sizes as it comes, so most people can wear this straight out of the box. If you want a closer fit, send us the circumference of your head above the ears and the distance from the bridge of your nose to the point of your chin, and we will set the mould and the strap lengths to suit.

Two things to consider before you order. Long hair worn down changes how the straps sit, so buckle it over the hairstyle you intend to wear. And if you plan to wear a wide brimmed hat over the mask, which is the traditional look, mention it, because we set the brow band a little lower so the hat brim clears the buckles.

Care

Feed the leather two or three times a year with a neutral dressing, applied thinly and buffed, because too much oil will soften moulded leather and let the beak lose its shape. Keep it out of a hot car and away from radiators, since heat is what kills wet moulded work. If it gets rained on, let it dry slowly at room temperature and never near a heater. Store it face up with the beak supported, or stuffed lightly with tissue, rather than face down where the beak takes the weight of the whole mask. Wipe the brass with a soft cloth and polish it if you want it bright, or let it mellow. The lenses lift out of their rims for cleaning, and a soft cloth with a little water is all they need.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hide grain differs across every skin, the moulding takes its own subtle shape on every mask, the stitch line is set by hand and the brass is already finding its own tone. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Does this filter the air I breathe

No. It is a costume mask and it offers no respiratory protection whatsoever. The vent at the tip of the beak is for airflow and comfort, not filtration, and nothing about this mask should be treated as protective equipment.

Can I put herbs in the beak

The beak is hollow and people do, usually a small muslin bag of dried lavender or rosemary tied inside. It smells pleasant and it does nothing medical. Keep anything you put in there dry and take it out before storage.

How well can I see out of it

Straight ahead, clearly. To the sides, poorly. Treat it like blinkers, turn your head rather than your eyes, and do not drive or cycle in it.

Will it fit over glasses

Slim frames yes, heavy frames usually not without adjustment. Tell us at the order stage and we will mould the eye area with a little more depth so your glasses clear the lens rims.

Are the lenses glass or plastic

Glass, held in brass rims and removable for cleaning. If you want acrylic instead for a stage production where a fall is likely, say so and we will fit it at no extra cost.

How long does it take to make

One to two weeks of processing because every mask is moulded and stitched to order, then shipping is free inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One wet moulded black leather beak mask
• Engraved solid brass brow band, riveted in place
• Brass rimmed glass lenses, removable
• Leather straps with brass buckles at the temple and jaw
• Care sheet for moulded leather and brass
• Lifetime warranty against defects in leather work, stitching and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in leather armor, engraved and personalised pieces, medieval helmets and brigandine and gambeson, or read the guides.