Wayang klitik puppet

Southeast Asian Collection

Accession Nr.: 7148
Type: puppetry and shadow play; carving
Date of production:
early 19th century
Place of production:
Materials/Techniques: wood, bamboo, hide, carved, painted
Dimensions: height: 45 cm
A flat wood carving of male figures with leather arms and a Javanese dagger (Indonesian: keris) embedded in the back of the belt.

The small, plastically formed East Javanese klitiks can be seen as a transition between the three-dimensional wayang golek wooden dolls and the flat shadow puppets (Indonesian: wayang kulit). Here too, the characters follow the visual tradition of wayang representations.