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Egúngún Masquerade Dance Costume
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Swirling into motion, egúngún masquerade costumes appear during annual festivities to bless the community. Manifesting ancestral spirits, they serve as a bridge between the living and the otherworld. The fabric panels create a dwelling place for ancestral spirits. Arranged and selected according to Yorùbá design sense (ojú-ọnà), this mask incorporates hundreds of African, Asian, and European fabrics. These include imported damasks, velvets, faux furs, and embroideries, as well as local indigo-dyed cottons.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineEgúngún Masquerade Dance Costume, 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker. Cotton, velvet, flannel, leather, dye, probably wood, cowrie shells, metal; overall: 152.4 x 58.4 x 40.6 cm (60 x 23 x 16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1976.188
