Marionette
Edward Hellawell
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1937 - circa 1947
Materials
Modelling material, wood and textiles
Measurements
720 mm (height)
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 672045
Summary
A marionette puppet of Hansel from the play 'Hansel and Gretel'. The puppet was made for the Lilliput Marionette Theatre Company, who performed with it from the 1940s to the early 1980s. The puppet has a head made from modelling material, with moulded hair and facial features. His hair and facial details are painted on and he has blond hair, blue, white and black eyes, pink lips and blonde eyebrows. His body, arms and legs are made of wood, jointed at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. His body is painted a flesh colour, with white on his lower legs to represent socks. His hands and feet are made of modelling material, his hands painted a flesh colour, and his feet painted brown to represent shoes. He is wearing a white cotton shirt and purple lederhosen-style short dungarees made of felt, with white flowers on the shoulder straps. The dungarees have some moth damage. Around his waist is a brown leather belt with a metal buckle. He has a metal ring in each side of his head, to which lengths of brown string are attached. He has no control.
Provenance
Donated to the Museum of Childhood by Caroline Hall in 2015
Makers and roles
Edward Hellawell, maker Margery Hellawell, costumier