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Jonathan
Swift (16671745)
Death mask 1745
Courtesy of The Board of Trinity College
Dublin
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Death
mask of Jonathan Swift
1745
Jonathan
Swift (16671745) was born in Dublin and
lived there for most of his life. His most famous
work is the novel Gulliver's Travels (a
first edition is on display in the exhibition).
Swift was a clergyman, but his satirical writing
against religious corruption prevented his promotion
to the highest ranks of the Church. He did not
restrict his satire to religion, however, but
used it to write powerfully against society's
wrongs.
The
practice of making death masks is thought to date
back to the fifteenth century and seems to have
served two main purposes. The first of these was
the provision of a face for the life-sized wooden
effigy of the deceased, which was clothed and
carried on the coffin in Royal and State funeral
processions.
The
second purpose was to record the features of the
deceased in order to assist a sculptor in making
a portrait bust or statue. It was presumably for
this purpose that death masks of Jonathan Swift
were taken. It is generally considered best for
the mask to be taken as soon after death occurs
as possible. The hair of the eyebrows and lashes
is protected with a layer of oil or a thin solution
of modelling clay, and then the face is covered
with a thin layer of plaster of Paris, followed
by a thicker layer when the plaster has begun
to set. When the outer layer has set firm, the
mould is removed from the face and forms the matrix
from which the death mask is then cast. The matrix
is filled with plaster of Paris. When this has
set, the mould is broken open to reveal the mask.
This
mask's darkened appearance is the result of an
earlier attempt to make it more lifelike through
the application of balsam of copaiba. This would
initially have been flesh-coloured, but has now
discoloured to a dark brown.
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