Splendid Plague Doctor Tattoo Meaning : Pros And Cons. Italian doctors were the first to wear these masks in 1348. Nowadays, plague is a far away memory and plague doctors are a perfect costume for statement music bands and badass photographies, as well as spooky tattoo designs.
Primarily, it represents death and darkness. The snout would often be stuffed with straw and spices, both because people thought it might protect the doctor and because of the stench of all the dead and dying people. These masks were worn by the italian doctors back in.