shadow puppet

Shadow puppet of Dewa Siva, made of carved and painted leather, supported by a wooden strut attached to the leather with string. The figure has a candi kurung, or basket crown, with an aureole, diadem and garuda mungkur (bird looking backwards) as well as a shoulder and neck covering with strap, bahuraksa. The figure is shown frontally, with the head in profile. The body is painted white, with the costume in various colours. It has four arms, the upper right holding a conch shell, which is raised to the mouth. The figure is standing on an integral plinth.

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The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive.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