2008.135.4

Collection type

Object

Description

Figure representing an actor. [MdeA 21/05/2009]

Long description

Figure representing an actor. The figure is made from pulped wood/card and is of a man wearing a robe. He is holding his right arm above his head and his left hand is brandishing a length of wire with a ball of fluff on the end. Behind his back is a sword made from wood and painted red and green. He is wearing a headdress of purple and yellow. His face has been painted pink and his features painted in black. Black wool has been used for his beard and hair. His robe is full length, from the waist up it is a pink colour with pale purple arms decorated with pink spots and silver lines. Several pieces of wire have been tied around his waist. He also wears a yellow belt which is slung low around his waist and is made from pulped wood/card. The robe is then in two colours from the waist down, purple with a white band and then red, with silver and black lines painted on and then edged with green decorated with pink spots. Beneath his robe his legs have been painted black with white feet. The back of the figure has been left undecorated and is white. The figure has been broken in two just beneath the waist and repaired so that now it is again in one piece. The left arm has also suffered a break and is very loose. His head is also very insecure where a break in the papier mâché has occurred. Two metal wire spikes protrude from perforations in the figure's feet. [FC 26/5/2009]

Geographical reference

Singapore

Asia > South-eastern Asia > Singapore

Person

Field collector Miki Van Zwanenberg

PRM source Miki Van Zwanenberg

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1979

Date collected

By 1979

Acquisition information

Donated: 21/11/2008

Materials and processes

Material Metal Wire, Material Pigment, Material Wool Yarn Animal, Material Wood Plant, Material Papier-Mâché Paper Plant, Process Painted, Process Tied, Process Carved

Dimensions

Height: max 395 mm, Depth: max 139 mm, Width: max 180 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 2008.135.4

Associated publications

See image alert in other information field. Caption agreed by donor: Effigy of an evil character from the the Wyang Opera Company, Singapore, used in the 1970s. Pitt Rivers Museum. [JN 23/08/2010]

Search terms: Figure, Religion, Theatre and Drama, Religious Object