ARJUNA - WAYANG KULIT SHADOW THEATRE PUPPET

Buffalo parchment, gilt and painted, buffalo horn.
Indonesia, Central Java, Yogyakarta, approx. 1968.
The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw has a collection of over 1000 theatre puppets from Indonesia, India, China, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam and Malaysia. There are three main types of Indonesian puppets: wayang kulit, wayang kerucil and wayang golek. The oldest form is wayang kulit, the shadow theatre where the Indian eposes Mahabharata and Ramayana are played. The rich symbolism of wayang is related to the eternal conflict between the Good and the Evil. Arjuna is one of Pandava brothers, positive heroes of the Mahabharata.

MAP 893, gift of Andrzej Wawrzyniak, 1973.