from popular culture, the survival of carnival in the 19th century was often a consequence of a self-conscious 'folklore' movement that accompanied the rise of nationalism in many european countries. nowadays, during carnival in the netherlands masks are often replaced with face paint for more comfort. in the beginning of the new century, on 19 august 2004, the bulgarian archaeologist georgi kitov discovered a 673 g gold mask in the burial mound "svetitsata" near shipka, central bulgaria. it is a very fine piece of workmanship made out of massive 23 karat gold. unlike other masks discovered in the balkans (of which three are in republic of macedonia and two in greece), it is now kept in the national archaeological museum in sofia. it is considered to be the mask of a thracian king, presumably teres. masks in theatre wikimedia commons has media related to theatre masks. masks play a key part within world theatre traditions, particularly non-western theatre forms. they also continue to be a vital force within contemporary theatre, and their usage takes a variety of forms. in many cultural traditions, the masked performer is a central concept and is highly valued. in the western tradition, actors in ancient greek theatre wore masks, as they do in traditional japanese noh drama. in some greek masks, the wide and open mouth of the mask contained a brass megaphone enabling the voice of the wearer to be projected into the large auditoria. in medieval europe, masks were used in mystery and miracle plays to portray allegorical creatures, and the performer representing god frequently wore a gold or gilt mask. during the renaissance, masques and ballet de cour developed – courtly masked entertainments that continued as part of ballet conventions until the late eighteenth century. the masked characters of the commedia dell'arte included the ancestors of the modern clown. in contemporary western theatre, the mask is often used alongside puppetry to create a theatre that is essentially visual, rather than verbal, and many of its practitioners have been visual artists. masks are an important part of many theatre forms throughout world cultures, and their usage in theatre has often developed from, or continues to be part of old, highly sophisticated, stylized theatrical traditions. contemporary theatre three photographs of the same noh mask of a woman show how her expression appears to change with a tilting of the head of the performer - to demonstrate the effect, the mask was affixed to a wall with constant lighting and only the camera was moved masks and puppets were often incorporated into the theatre work of european avant-garde artists from the turn of the nineteenth century. alfred jarry, pablo picasso, oskar schlemmer, other artists of the bauhaus school, as well as surrealists and dadaists, experimented with theatre forms and masks in their work. in the 20th century, many theatre practitioners, such as meyerhold, edward gordon craig, jacques copeau, and others in their lineage, attempted to move away from naturalism. they turned to sources such as oriental theatre (particularly japanese noh theatre) and commedia dell'arte, both of which forms feature masks prominently. edward gordon craig (1872–1966) in a note on masks (1910) proposed the virtues of using masks over the naturalism of the actor. craig was highly influential, and his ideas were taken up by brecht, cocteau, genet, eugene o'neill – and later by arden, grotowski, brook, and others who "attempted to restore a ritualistic if not actually religious significance to theatre". copeau, in his attempts to "naturalise" actors, decided to use masks to liberate them from their "excessive awkwardness". in turn, copeau's work with masks was taken on by his students including etienne decroux and later, via jean daste and jacques lecoq. lecoq, having worked as movement director at teatro piccalo in italy, was influenced by the commedia tradition. lecoq met amleto satori, a sculptor, and they collaborated on reviving the techniques of making traditional leather commedia masks. later, developing copeau's "noble mask", lecoq would ask satori to make him masques neutre (the neutral mask). for lecoq, masks became an important training tool, the neutral mask being designed to facilitate a state of openness in the student-performers, moving gradually on to character and expressive masks, and finally to "the smallest mask in the world" the clown's red-nose. one highly important feature of lecoq's use of mask, wasn't so much its visual impact on stage, but how it changed the performers movement on stage. it was a body-based approach to mask work, rather than a visually led one. lecoq's pedagogy has been hugely influential for theatre practitioners in europe working with mask and has been exported widely across the world. this work with masks also relates to performing with portable structures and puppetry. students of lecoq have continued using masks in their work after leaving the school, such as in john wright's trestle theatre. in america, mask-work was slower to arrive, but the guerrilla theatre movement, typified by groups such as the san francisco mime troupe and bread and puppet theatre took advantage of it. influenced by modern dance, modern mime, commedia dell'arte and brecht such groups took to the streets to perform highly political theatre. peter schumann, the founder of bread and puppet theatre, made particular use of german carnival masks. bread and puppet inspired other practitioners around the world, many of whom used masks in their work. in the us and canada, these companies include in the heart of the beast puppet and mask theater of minneapolis; arm-of-the sea theatre from new york state; snake theater from california; and shadowland theatre of toronto, ontario. these companies, and others, have a strong social agenda, and combine masks, music and puppetry to create a visual theatrical form. another route masks took into american theatre was via dancer/choreographers such as mary wigman, who had been using masks in dance and had emigrated to america to flee the nazi regime. in europe, schumann's influence combined with the early avant-garde artists to encourage groups such as moving picture mime show and welfare state (both in the uk). these companies had a big influence on the next generation of groups working in visual theatre, including iou and horse and bamboo theatre, who create a theatre in which masks are used along with puppets, film and other visual forms, with an emphasis on the narrative structure. functional masks masks are also familiar as pieces of kit associated with practical functions, usually protective. there has been a proliferation of such masks recently but there is a long history of protective armour and even medical masks to ward off plague. the contrast with performance masks is not always clear-cut. ritual and theatrical masks themselves can be considered to be practical, and protective masks in a sports context in particular are often designed to enhance the appearance of the wearer. medical iranian surgical technologist with surgical mask vietnamese young people wear surgic masks after the covid-19 pandemic some masks are used for medical purposes: oxygen mask, a piece of medical equipment that assists breathing. anesthetic mask. burn mask, a piece of medical equipment that protects the burn tissue from contact with other surfaces, and minimises the risk of infection. surgical mask, a piece of medical equipment that helps to protect both the surgeon and patient from acquiring infection from each other. face shield, to protect a medical professional from bodily fluids. pocket mask or cpr mask, used to safely deliver rescue breaths during a cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. a protective surgical mask cloth face mask, an alternative to a surgical mask for reducing the spread of infectious agents. protective protective reusable filter mask worn by nypd officer protective masks are pieces of kit or equipment worn on the head and face to afford protection to the wearer, and today usually have these functions: providing a supply of air or filtering the outside air (respirators and dust masks). protecting the face against flying objects or dangerous environments, while allowing vision. in roman gladiatorial tournaments masks were sometimes used. from archaeological evidence it is clear that these were not only protective but also helped make the wearer appear more intimidating. in medieval europe and in japan soldiers and samurai wore similarly ferocious-looking protective armour, extending to face-masks. in the 16th century, the visard was worn by women to protect from sunburn. today this function is attributed to thin balaclavas. in sport the protective mask will often have a secondary function to make the wearer appear more impressive as a competitor. before strong transparent materials such as polycarbonate were invented, visors to protect the face had to be opaque with small eyeslits, and were a sort of mask, as often in mediaeval suits of armour, and (for example) old norse grímr meant "mask or visor". disguise a rib knit three-hole balaclava allows the wearer to protect the face against cold air or hinder recognition members of anonymous wear guy fawkes masks while protesting against the church of scientology, 2008, london masks are sometimes used to avoid recognition. as a disguise the mask acts as a form of protection for the wearer who wishes to assume a role or task without being identified by others. robbers and other criminal perpetrators may wear masks as a means in concealing their faces and thus identities from their victims and from law enforcement. occasionally a witness for the prosecution appears in court in a mask to avoid being recognized by associates of the accused. participants in a black bloc at protests usually wear masks, often bandannas, to avoid recognition, and to try to protect against any riot control agents used. masks are also used to prevent recognition while showing membership of a group: masks are use by penitents in ceremonies to disguise their identity in order to make the act of penitence more selfless. the semana santa parades throughout spain and in hispanic or catholic countries throughout the world are examples of this, with their cone-shaped masks known as capirote. masks are used by vigilante groups. the cone-shaped mask in particular is identified with the ku klux klan in a self-conscious effort to combine the hiding of personal identity with the promotion of a powerful and intimidating image. members of the group anonymous frequently wear masks (usually guy fawkes masks, best known from v for vendetta) when they attend protests. while the niqāb usually shows membership of some islamic community, its purpose is not to hinder recognition, although it falls under some anti-mask laws such as the french ban on face covering. occupational beaked masks containing herbs in the beak were worn in early modern europe by plague doctors to try to ward off the black death. filter mask, a piece of safety equipment. full-face diving mask as part of self-contained breathing apparatus for divers and others; some let the wearer talk to others through a built-in communication device respirator (gas or particulate mask), a mask worn on the face to protect the body from airborne pollutants and toxic materials, and fine particulate matter or infectious particles. oxygen mask worn by high-altitude pilots, or used in medicine to deliver oxygen, anesthetic, or other gases to patients welding mask to protect the welder's face and eyes from the brightness and sparks created during welding sports an american football player wearing a mask that protects his face from another player's hand american football helmet face mask balaclava, also known as a "ski mask", to protect the face against cold air. baseball catcher's mask. diving mask, an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. fencing mask. goaltender mask, a mask worn by an ice or field hockey goaltender to protect the head and face from injury. hurling helmets were made mandatory in 2010, and have a wire mask on the front to protect the player's face. kendo, a mask called men is used in this japanese sword-fighting martial art. paintball mask. visor (ice hockey). an interesting example of a sports mask that confounds the protective function is the wrestling mask, a mask most widely used in the mexican/latin lucha libre style of wrestling. in modern lucha libre, masks are colourfully designed to evoke the images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes. the mask is considered "sacred" to some degree, placing its