In many cultures, body art defines and celebrates both the transition from childhood to adulthood and the distinctions between men and women. It not only gives meaning to age and gender but also honors beauty, bravery and the acquisition of knowledge.

Transitions between one life stage and another are often seen as dangerous. To ensure her good fortune, an Indian bride's hands and feet are decorated with henna, while a Chokwe girl's body is covered in white kaolin for protection during initiation.

Distinctions can be made permanently visible through scarification, tattooing, or various forms of body shaping. People in some societies use body art to honor elders, while in others makeup and plastic surgery conceal signs of aging. Scarification may mark a woman in Africa as ready for marriage, while some Native American men were once tattooed to celebrate their strength and bravery. Bodies of both men and women, young and old, are shaped and molded, sometimes in drastic ways, to emphasize their beauty and attractiveness.

The section features a Chinese foot binding display case with objects including actual shoes, as well as photographs and shadow puppets of women wearing the shoes; an exhibit displaying corsets, bras, and bustles worn by Western women; a henna display with photos, jewelry, and application tools; six very fine wood figures from central Africa, showing men's and women's scarification marks -- signs of beauty and prestige; a Mangbetu man photographed around 1910 showing his bound and elongated head; a Native American painted deerskin collected in the 18th century that formerly hung in the "King's Cabinet" in Versailles; and a painting by John Verelst, painted in 1710, showing one of the four Iroquois chiefs who visited London in the early 18th century. Other highlights include labrettes and masks worn by Eskimos, Native American clothing and tattoo instruments, a painting of a Mohawk Chief with body painting, and a photo of a Mangbetu infant, whose head is being bound for reshaping.

introduction | origins | representations
transformations | identities | distinctions | reinvention