This costume was designed by Leon Bakst for a Temple Servant in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Dieu bleu (The Blue God) first produced by the Diaghilev Ballets Russes in 1912. Bakst was one of the most famous designers of the 20th century, and his extraordinary sense of style, colour and texture revolutionized not only theatre design, but also influenced fashion and interior design.

This costume is for a minor character but is typical of Bakst, with its vibrant colours, mixing magenta and deep blue, and the varying textures of the designs realised in appliqué outlined with gold cord and braids. Seeing the costume in isolation, it is difficult to see it as it was originally - one element in the total stage picture, which was full of equally exotic costumes, executed in complementary colours and heavily encrusted with rich design and geometric patterns.