Antique Ornate Asian Handmade Burmese 26" Marionette Yoke

Description

High quality, original marionette puppet from Burma. The tradition, which was founded in the late 18th century by a royal patron, is known as Yoke the'. This example probably represents a Sama-Deva Nat, a spirit figure. Yoke thé is the Burmese name for marionette puppetry. Although the term can be used for marionettery in general, its usage usually refers to the local form of string puppetry. Like most of Burmese refined art, yoke thé performances originated from royal patronage and were gradually adapted for the wider populace. Yoke thé are almost always performed in operas. Burmese marionettes are very intricate and dexterous as they employ 18 or 19 wires for male and female characters respectively, and each puppet is controlled by only one puppeteer.
This is a pre world war II doll
. Yoke Thay,Daw Moe (old lady) the traditional string puppet/marionette used in the Myanmar (Burma) marionette theater. She is dramatic art,a blend of sculpture,painting,costuming and embroidery. She is magnificent!!! The face has been painted with multiple layers of white talc based paint,her lower lip is controlled by the puppeteer (with his finger via a hole in the back of the puppets head as well as a string) which moves up and down to mimic speech. Red painted lips,tongue and white teeth complete the mouth. She adorns a wonderful pair of earrings and her natural black human hair is up turned into a bun on the top of her head secured with a shiny fabric tie. Her neck is divided into two sections so it is able to rotate,giving her a human appearance. The torso,mid-section and legs are carved out of wood and joined by cloth and string. She is endowed with large carved bosoms,hips and is anatomically correct. The arms are made of two piece of carved wood which terminate in carved hands made up of a thumb and four fingers that are separated into two movable hinged sections. The wood legs also covered in cloth and with strings for manipulation,ending with bare feet that have been painted with white talc paint and red toe nails.
She dons a four piece outfit,an under shirt,long sleeve jacket which has an embellished bile covered with sequins and stones,long skirt like garment known as an along and as traditionally worn leggings.
Dimensions: The marionette itself is 27" long and approx. 10" wide. When the strings are extended the piece is 46" long.