Posted 9 years ago
LuluX
(95 items)
These too have now been saved from my garage. I purchased this pair of (I understand to be) Indonesian wooden puppets back in the 80's from a local auction sale. At that time they appeared somewhat old with history but unfortunately I don't have any more information on them. A quick description: made of wood and hand painted, a stick held by hand goes through centre of body and head for control. Sticks are also attached to hands of puppet for further action control. The head has two faces, I'm guessing good and bad! Hope you like them.
WAYANG is the concept meaning 'performance' in Java .... initially shadow performance in puppet theatre of tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
"Wayang is an art of puppet theater and story telling. In the beginning, the stories were adapted from India to spread Hindu’s teaching. They were often stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata. These tales were then adapted by Indonesian poets since the 10th Century, written in artistic language and became part of ancient Indonesian oral literature. One of them is the script of Kakawin, in Javanese language, from the period of King Dyah Belitung."
http://www.batikncraft.com/art-in-indonesia/wayang/
These are the type of three dimensional puppets called "WAYANG GOLEK".
"Wayang Golek is another form of Wayang made from wooden puppet. Its birth was much inspired by the beauty of leather Wayang. This three-dimensional puppets are made much more to human shape than leather Wayang. They are also dressed with batik clothes. What has become the appeal of Wayang Golek is the freedom that comes with creating the Wayang; it is made according to the story. The artist could adjust the color or clothes to build the characters. As a venue of theater performance, its popularity has spread out especially in West Java.
Historically, this Wayang started to evolve since the period of Padjajaran kingdom, sometimes in 10th to 12th Century and truly developed in the 16th Century during the golden age of Sunan Gunung Jati. At this time, Wayang Golek was to be used for the spread of Islam."
Bravo Vetraio ! ! !
My son was given one of these from Bali - the bearers just called it a Golek, so now I know more! Thanks Vet.
vetraio50, WOW that's a lot of history, Thank You for all of that information I really appreciate the knowledge you have shared with me and taking the time to reply on the forum. I knew very little about these puppets but somehow they just appealed to me. I'm guessing these two are from around 1950's (???) All the best, Lynette.
Yes I agree kyratango!
Hi racer4four, yes I agree, vetraoi50 is a wealth of information. :)
Thank you for the luvs vetraio50, mike85, kyratango, aghcollect and racer4four :)
Good ID, vetraio, and a nice item, LuluX, very interesting. I hope the ID helps you find out more information about your particular puppets. :)