Featured Wayang Puppet

Not quite sure if this is the right subforum. I bought this today, figuring that even if I couldn't fix it or sell it, I could add its head to my collection of puppet and marionette heads. It came with two wooden hoops and two sticks. I think its lower arms might be missing. Do you think it's old or a modern reproduction? Do I have the real deal here, or is it something touristy or from The World Market?

 

Technically speaking not, but this is where many non-tribal Indonesian items end up.
He is a Sundanese wayang golek puppet from West Java. I don't know the exact character, but he is of the Boma type, the more fierce looking guys.
I can't find a Boma type with a blue face, but there are local differences, and some makers don't know everything about tradition.
That artificial staining/aging of the face started in the 50s, most makers came to their senses ca 1970.
The sarung or skirt looks in very good condition, so it could date from after 1970. Is there any fading? What does it look like under his apron?
He is nicely carved. Missing or mismatched arms often indicate use in wayang performances, but most 20th-21st century puppets were made for the tourist market. The quality is the same.

When trying to identify a wayang puppet it is always good to show the side of the head as well, because every little detail counts.
I think he could be H4 from this list, top left, from the book 'Wayang Golek' by Peter Buurman:


H4 is Indrajit, a demonic character from the Ramayana story. Indrajit is usually depicted with a red face.
H4 is just the classification by this researcher, not an official code.

Yours is missing the central rod and, as you thought, the lower arms with the sticks to move them.
The central rod:


The thin half goes through the body and the neck. The body rests on top of the broad part. Nothing is fixed, it is detachable for travel.


The hoops and sticks have nothing to do with the puppet. They probably just ended up in a box together. The hoops look like curtain rings.

 

Thank you! That's the one.

It's too bad about the arms. The skirt is unfaded, so I suppose that it's new. The aging of the wood is pretty consistent throughout.

 

I have 2 wayang golek puppets. One of them has a very similar head, but maybe more H5. It has a label saying it is Satira Gondrong.

The skirts of mine look horrid, so maybe older ones I got them together in a pile. Anyway to know which head goes with which body/skirt?

 

John, you are just going by the hairstyle. But in wayang every detail counts.
The hairstyle of your male wayang puppet (on the right) is the general old Javanese princely hairstyle, in this case with an upward curl, held together by a masked clasp, the 'Garuda mungkur'.
The princely hairstyle means the character is of high aristocracy, whether human, divine, demonic. Kings wear another hairstyle and headdress.
Demonic aristocrats have round eyes, big curved noses and fangs, that is what Barn's puppet has.
Your puppet has a noble, civilized face (halus in Javanese), and a thin moustache, all very important in identification. The features of this are the bent head, straight nose, and thin slanted eyes, and no fangs, of course. Together with the princely hairstyle and the curls at the back, he is definitely Satria Gondrong, A13 in this particular classification:


The Javanese word Satria or Satrio is from the Sanskrit Kshatria, the name of the caste responsible for justice and social harmony. It is the caste of the aristocracy.
Satria Gondrong means long-haired knight/nobleman. He is a puppet that is used for any young aristocratic character.

The Javanese influenced cultural regions still know castes, but, apart from Bali, the system is not as rigid and discriminatory as it is in parts of India and Pakistan. The Balinese-Indian-Pakistani views on caste, and the often horrifying results, are in conflict with the Javanese and Madurese idea of harmony.
I am part Madurese and when other (part)Indonesians meet me they often establish their and my caste in polite conversation. Sometimes in a roundabout way, but it is deemed necessary by many. Once that is over, contacts are the same as with anyone else. They just need to know, that's all.

 

And now for the girl, on the left. She is the lovely, kind and fun-loving princess Banowati Dewi from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. A character the audience always looks forward to seeing, because she likes jokes.
She was in love with the important hero Arjuna, and he with her. In spite of that he advised her to marry his cousin. After the death of her husband she finally married Arjuna.
This is her in the same book as the others. Yours has a higher comb, but it is the same character.

 

Super AJ. Thnx!

 

Hierbij nog de volledige poppen. Combinatie hoofd en lijf de juiste, of valt hier niets van te zeggen? Kan net zo makkelijk andersom.

 

Sorry Barnowl, for hijacking your topic a bit. But you did get all the info you needed as well, right?

 

Your question was, right combination head and body, could be the other way around.
Yes, it should be the other way around, but even then Banowati will be feeling a bit exposed. She is missing her bodice, poor thing. Do you have a broad velvet ribbon to wrap around her upper body? Black will do.
I can see you were trying to cover her up by choosing the other body for her. Very decent of you.
I can now see, the girl also has the cosmic flame of enlightenment, that is why her comb is so high.

Just to give you an idea what both would look like, obviously these are relatively new:

The man has the long ornamental collar over a bare upper body, the woman has either a bodice (with or without separate collar) or a kebaya.
In the case of Banowati it should be a bodice and a short collar.

They both have a very nice age. Pre-50s, maybe older.

 

OMG. Posted this in Dutch. Blush, blush! Thanks for translating AJ.

 

Poor thing indeed! I'll make here a bodice as you suggested.
And I exchanged there heads of course. They must already feel so much better now

 

I thought you were fast-forwarding the introduction of Dutch as a forum language.
I just facilitated the transition for those who are not yet proficient in Dutch.

 

I'm sure they do. They must have had an identity crisis.