Marionette
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Cloth, Hair, Metal, Plaster, Wood
Measurements
720 mm (height)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 661585
Summary
One of the puppets made for and used by the ‘Lilliput Marionette Theatre’. This marionette was identified as a 'male character' from the play entitled 'A Christmas Carol'. A marionette puppet of a man in a dressing gown holding a book in his right hand, without a control. The man has a plaster face on top of wood with painted and moulded facial features consisting of black rimmed eyes with blue coloured eye lids and a pointed nose. His mouth is open and white teeth can be seen. His hair is receding and is brown in colour. The puppet is jointed at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, knees and ankles, with metal joints. He is wearing a stiff pointed collar and white shirt with a blue, yellow and red cravat, both made from artificial silk. One shiny bead acts as a button. His dressing gown is long blue cotton with red lapels, pocket tops and cuffs, with yellow and pink threaded edging and waist tie. His hands are a brown modelling material and his right hand is badly chipped in places. The book in his right hand is a real book cut in half. The front cover has the word 'LEIGHTON' printed on it in white ink on a brown background. The book is dated 1908-9. His trousers are black and white check cotton and his feet are wooden with a purple leather type material making up his shoes. The control and strings are missing with black thread being attached to various parts with a white thick string looped around his head to left shoulder through metal loops.
Provenance
Donated to the Museum of Childhood by Mr E Hellawell in 1982.