Mid - 20th Cen. Indonesian Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppet Of Krishna 28. 5” With Stand
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:53084641 |
Mid-20th Cen. Indonesian Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppet of Krishna 28.5” With Stand. Condition is "Used". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
Vintage mid-20th century Indonesian/Javanese Wayang shadow puppet of Krishna, 28" tall including the stand. Condition is used, has some color flaking, some minor parchment curling. Please see photos. This puppets is hand made from painted buffalo skin (parchment), with wooden rods to move the articulated arms. According to a “Durang” ...(a puppet master) in Uban Bali, this puppet is the character, "Krishna", from the great epic called, Mahabharata, telling stories about the adventures of ancient Indian kingdoms, their wars and Hindu gods. This puppet is part a large collection assembled by an American expat living in Asia from the 1960s to the1980s. It was then brought to the USA and put in climate controlled storage until 2012. Thus its current condition should be the same as it was when collected many years ago. It was not made for the tourist but is a true collector item showing wear from long time use. Please look over the photos carefully to determine its condition. Wayang performances are a very ancient form of theater and still very popular in Indonesian and much of Asia. The puppet master manipulates the puppets behind a screen with a light behind him. The audience sits in front of the screen and sees only the projected black shadow. Most local performance are done at night and are accompanied by an orchestra of mostly percussion instruments (gongs, Xylophones etc.) called Gamelan. They can last for up to 12 hours.THESTORY OF KRISHNALord Krishna isa complicated and major character in the epic Mahabharata, He is an important Hindu deity, the eighth avatar of lord Vishnu, and sometimes referred to as the universal Supreme Being. The son of Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva (the supreme chief) of the Yadava clan, Krishna is considered the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love, and to this day is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna is portrayed in various ways: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, a great philosopher, politician, warrior, conqueror, and negotiator. Books and history describe many legends, and he is often depicted showing different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a young man with his consort Radha or surrounded by women devotees, The epic Mahabharata describes many battles fought by Krishna and his conquest of various kingdoms. He was instrumental in overthrowing the wicked king Kansa (the son of king Ugrasena)who overthrew his father and pronounced himself king of Surasena). Krishna re-established Kansa’s father, Ugrasena, (Krishna’s uncle) as its ruler. Different kingdoms within his Yadava clan often clashed and warred against each other. After years of this friction called the Kurukshetra War, he was able to create an alliance among clan member sand solidify the ruler of the Pandava (five brothers, demigod warrior princes, and the heroes of the Mahabharata) at Indraprastha the modern-day Delhi. Krishna's philosophical conversation with his friend and cousin Arjuna during the Kurukshetra War, written in the Mahabharata, later became known as the famous Bhagavad Gita, the holy book of the Hindu.
Vintage mid-20th century Indonesian/Javanese Wayang shadow puppet of Krishna, 28" tall including the stand. Condition is used, has some color flaking, some minor parchment curling. Please see photos. This puppets is hand made from painted buffalo skin (parchment), with wooden rods to move the articulated arms. According to a “Durang” ...(a puppet master) in Uban Bali, this puppet is the character, "Krishna", from the great epic called, Mahabharata, telling stories about the adventures of ancient Indian kingdoms, their wars and Hindu gods. This puppet is part a large collection assembled by an American expat living in Asia from the 1960s to the1980s. It was then brought to the USA and put in climate controlled storage until 2012. Thus its current condition should be the same as it was when collected many years ago. It was not made for the tourist but is a true collector item showing wear from long time use. Please look over the photos carefully to determine its condition. Wayang performances are a very ancient form of theater and still very popular in Indonesian and much of Asia. The puppet master manipulates the puppets behind a screen with a light behind him. The audience sits in front of the screen and sees only the projected black shadow. Most local performance are done at night and are accompanied by an orchestra of mostly percussion instruments (gongs, Xylophones etc.) called Gamelan. They can last for up to 12 hours.THESTORY OF KRISHNALord Krishna isa complicated and major character in the epic Mahabharata, He is an important Hindu deity, the eighth avatar of lord Vishnu, and sometimes referred to as the universal Supreme Being. The son of Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva (the supreme chief) of the Yadava clan, Krishna is considered the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love, and to this day is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna is portrayed in various ways: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, a great philosopher, politician, warrior, conqueror, and negotiator. Books and history describe many legends, and he is often depicted showing different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a young man with his consort Radha or surrounded by women devotees, The epic Mahabharata describes many battles fought by Krishna and his conquest of various kingdoms. He was instrumental in overthrowing the wicked king Kansa (the son of king Ugrasena)who overthrew his father and pronounced himself king of Surasena). Krishna re-established Kansa’s father, Ugrasena, (Krishna’s uncle) as its ruler. Different kingdoms within his Yadava clan often clashed and warred against each other. After years of this friction called the Kurukshetra War, he was able to create an alliance among clan member sand solidify the ruler of the Pandava (five brothers, demigod warrior princes, and the heroes of the Mahabharata) at Indraprastha the modern-day Delhi. Krishna's philosophical conversation with his friend and cousin Arjuna during the Kurukshetra War, written in the Mahabharata, later became known as the famous Bhagavad Gita, the holy book of the Hindu.
