Antique Chinese Hand Puppet Papier Mache and Composition Rare Precious DLL

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Antique Chinese Hand Puppet Papier Mache and Composition Rare Precious DLL:
$150.00

Rare Antique Chinese Hand Puppet
A charming vintage Chinese hand puppet of fabric body, papier mache head and composition head, hands and feet. This was a surprising find at the bottom of a box of other Asian dolls acquired from a doll collectors estate. Only after listing the other dolls did we give him a second glance and realize that he was in fact a hand puppet. He is the traditional shape for a hand puppet of this type, a head on a rather wide neck that allows one to slip several fingers into it. The hands are attached to empty sleeves allowing a finger to slip into each to manipulate the arms. The feet are attached to fabric legs and simple hand loosely. The body of the puppet measures approximately 10\" from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet, overhall the puppet measures 13\" from the top of the silver cap to the bottom of the robe.
In photographing this puppet we realized just how magnificent he is. The robe is a striking combination of geometric pattern with charming depictions of small boys. Although this is certainly meant to be a Chinese man, the figures of the boys on the robe appear to be gosho, traditionally a Japanese depiction of chubby and happy infants. The hands have holes in them to allow for the use of accessories such as staffs and swords. The nails have been painted in tiny lines of red. The feet are molded shoes and were originally black with green accents. They have the typical loss one almost always sees on the shoes of these puppets.The head is perhaps the most striking feature of the doll. The papier mache and composition is in wonderful condition and there is only a tiny bit of paint loss, notable to the nose and forehead. He retains all of his beard and his face paint is glorious in color and detail. His high peaked silver cap retains the tufts of downy feathers at the top and the silver paper ribbon detail. The red felt medallion on his hat has a trace of glue; obviously some decorative element on his hat has been lost over the years.These puppets are hard to date but usually seem to have been made in the early to mid 20th century. We are incredibly honored to present this rare item and look forward to placing him into the waiting hands of his next owner.

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