Image: Death masks collection
Description
Death masks frpm the Australian Museum's collections.
- Photographer:
- Australian Museum Archives
- Rights:
- © Australian Museum
Additional information
Death masks show the subject's facial expression immediately after death. It was important to make death masks quickly, before the features became distorted. Death masks were used for a number of reasons - as a tool for sculpture or effigy making, or as objects of veneration.
This image, taken around 1860, shows The Australian Museum's collection of death masks. The collection included the mask of 'Bold' Jack Donohue, better known as 'The Wild Colonial Boy. In 1897, the masks were given to the Anatomy Museum at Sydney University, but have since disappeared.
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