gloves part of Rafiki costume from "Lion King": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This costume is worn by the narrator figure Rafiki, the tribal shaman or spiritual leader, in the stage musical, The Lion King. The character, a baboon, is always portrayed on stage by an actress as a way, in the words of Julie Taymor, the show’s director-designer, to bring “a strong adult feminine presence” to the play. The costume is a fine example of the way the designer combines aspects of South African art with that of show business razzle-dazzle.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Object Name: costume
• Object Name: hand
• Object Name: glove
• Object Name: feet
• Object Name: hands
• Object Name: glove, part of Rakiki costume from Broadway play "Lion King"
• Object Name: gloves, pair
• Object Name: glove, pair
• Measurements: overall: 12 in x 6 1/2 in; 30.48 cm x 16.51 cm
• Subject: Musical Theater
• ID Number: 2009.0181.01.01
• accession number: 2009.0181
• catalog number: 2009.0181.01.01
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.