| Description | This is a Schimmelbusch-type mask. The device features a wire frame, constructed from two intersecting metal wires that lock together at a depression at the point of intersection. A hinged mechanism with a latch would have secured the gauze (which is missing) stretched over the bars, and it is chipped at the latch-end. The mask is made of metal and shows little signs of corrosion.
The mask is pear-shaped, with a short, rounded handle.
The German physician Curt Schimmelbusch designed this mask around 1889 to prevent gauze, doused in anaesthetic, from irritating the patient’s skin, and it is still used in some countries. |