puppet; wayang golek

Carved and painted wooden rod puppet, wayang golek, probably depicting a foreigner, with ugly downward sloping features, a prominent nose and a beard made from white fibres. Dressed in a long red velvet jacket, somewhat faded, which fastens with buttons at the front, and has gold epaulettes, and a green and pink check cloth sarung. He has a twined cord in two colours across his body and a kris in a sheath made in one piece. On his head is a round hat, or topi, similar to a pith helmet, with a crest at the front and boss on top. Beneath this the more traditional headdress associated with puppets representing Javanese characters appears in carved wood. One rod attached to the right hand; that belonging to the left hand is missing.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk