Spiegelpercht (Mask costume) front

This impressive costume, with its elaborately decorated headpiece towering almost two metres over the wearer, comes from the Pongau region of Austria. It is the complete outfit of a spiegelpercht (“mirror percht”), one of a broad cast of percht characters, some demonic and some benevolent, that appear in the processions of costumed figures still held widely in the Bavarian and Austrian Alps, usually on 6 January. In them, schönperchte (“beautiful perchts”) go from farm to farm accompanied by a multitude of other masked characters, bringing the people wishes for good luck and blessings. This ritual is usually interpreted as symbolising the casting out of the winter. The costume can weigh up to 50 kg. Its most important part is the perchtenkappe (“percht cap”), which serves to display the wealth of its wearer. The front sides of the two diamond-shaped panels are adorned with numerous ornaments, along with two mirrors meant to ward off evil. The backs of the panels, painted in rich detail, show an alpine landscape with houses and their inhabitants.