Kurent Mask

Kurentovanje is one of Slovenia's most ethnologically significant carnival events. The 10-day rite of spring and fertility is celebrated on Shrove Sunday in Ptuj. Its main figure, known as Kurent, was seen as an extravagant god of unrestrained pleasure and hedonism in early Slavic customs. In today's festival, groups of kurents, or kurenti, wear sheepskin garments while holding wooden clubs with hedgehog skins attached, called ježevke, the noise of which is believed to chase away winter.

Kurent costume mask, worn along with costume parts 3272/2-4.

Large mask. A leatherette form fits over the head, and is covered with a thick pallet of sheep wool, a long red leather face emerging at centre. Face has a trunk-like nose painted with yellow, black and white stripes, and a long red and white tongue hanging below. A moustache of sorghum sits below the nose, with bean teeth attached. Goose feathers serve as large ears along the side of the head, and long black horns emerge above. Wool pompoms and bunches of pheasant feathers top the horns, and a wreath of ribbons and paper flowers span the distance between them.