Shadow Puppets of Kedah

Raja Muda (Crown Prince) Wearing Colorful Thai Costume

The puppet depicts the character of a refined Raja Muda (Crown Prince) in profile wearing Thai costume with a pompadour hairstyle popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Note the long fingers, prominent ring, and elongated fingernails symbols of both male and female refined characters. Nang Talung often incorporates modern characters and styles of clothing into the design of its shadow puppets. This puppet depicts the traditional clothing of a prince or wealthy upper-class Thai noble, but sports a modern hairstyle and does not wear a crown or headdress. This puppet could potentially play a prince or other refined male lead role. One arm of the puppet is articulated at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The articulated arm is manipulated by a puppeteer via a bamboo rod attached by a knotted cord to the hand. The leather puppet is supported by a central bamboo rod that is tied to the leather figure via cording. The leather is thin and translucent goatskin. The puppet has been dyed with vivid colors of pigment that permeate the leather and allow the bright colors of the clothing of the puppet to project through the shadow screen and provide a colorized shadow, Height: 45.1 cm, Width: 13.6 cm, width including extended moveable left arm: 39.1 cm

Made in Southern Thailand

Acquisition date 1974

black, red, and green pigment

Goatskin, bamboo string