| Description |
A: Shadow puppet carved from very thin piece of turtle shell; B: Round stand for puppet; Wayang shadow puppet from Indonesia; Small two-dimensional figure intricately carved from a very thin piece of tortoise shell, with fine line detail carved into the body of the puppet for light to shine through; Stands on a squat black hourglass-shaped horn base with a small slit in the center in which the bottom portion of the shadow puppet fits; White band of lime wraps around the most narrow aspect of the base; Wayang refers to a form of puppet theatre art found in Indonesia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, which tells a dramatic story by casting shadows through these puppets; During a performance, the puppet characters are rear-projected onto a screen, while being manipulated by a “dalang†(shadow artist) to show movement and tell the story; The character depicted here is possibly Bima, one of the Pandhawa Brothers from the Hindu epic Mahabharata; The Mahabharata tells a complex story of family rivalry across generations and the wars that arise as a result – the storylines ranging from great adventures to ethical dilemmas. |
