
The Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria are known for their spectacular art forms, notably their masquerades. While museum often show masks without the matching dress, here we have a costume lacking the wooden mask with an elaborate hairstyle. During a festival called The Fame of Maidens, male dancers would embody the ideals of youthful feminine beauty through their masks, costumes, and movements. The costume has woven breasts and a naval attached to it. The applique designs in vivid colors refer to female body ornamentation, traditionally a combination of scarification and body paint. Beauty, for the Igbo, refers to physical and moral characteristics, and the dead maidens who are honored during the festival personify both.