Krishna rod puppet thumbnail 1
Not on display

Krishna rod puppet

Puppet
20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A Bommalattam puppet, like this one from the troupe of Mr. M.R. Ranganatha Rao from Bangalore, is not strictly a marionette since it has detachable rod attachments as well as three strings. The strings are fixed to the puppet's head, along with a wooden knob, which helps the puppeteer to move the puppet when not performing. The name comes from the words bomma, or doll, and lattam, meaning dance.

The puppets are made of light wood, which is hollowed out. The head and torso are separate, but the head is not articulated. The puppets have movable arms, jointed at the shoulder, elbow and wrist with knotted string. The puppets have no legs, but a long skirt often made from a complete length of sari to give it a full appearance. Originally Bommalattam performances took place in the open, without a stage, when the feet of the puppeteer would become those of the puppet, showing from under its long skirt.

Ranganatha Rao's troupe, which performed at the Hyderabad Puppet Festival in the 1986, consisted of nine members, mostly from the same family. Three men manipulated the puppets, whilst a girl helped attach rods and pass the puppets to the operators during the performance. The storyteller, or Bhagavata, sang througout the performance and sat with the musicians - a drummer, a violinist and a harmonium player - behind the stage. He was joined at times by a female singer who sang the female parts. Sometimes the puppeteers themselves would speak on behalf of their puppets.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleKrishna rod puppet (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved and painted wood with cotton, velvet, artificial silk, glass panels, sequins and beads
Brief description
South Indian Bommolattam rod puppet of the Indian god Krishna, from Karnataka, Bangalore, India, used by the troupe of Ranganatha Rao. 20th century.
Physical description
Rod puppet of Krishna wearing necklaces of gold beads and imitation pearls and a carved wooden crown, painted gold, set with small square glass panels and green and magenta sequins. The head, hands and torso are of carved wood, painted blue, and the eyes and eyebrows are outlined in black, with a red painted mouth. The marionette is dressed in a long crimson velvet jacket, a saffron yellow sari with decorative strips of floral and geometric designs in gold thread work . A long pink scarf with bands of gold thread work decoration is tucked into a belt of gold open thread work ribbon. Three suspension cords, painted black, are attached to the marionette by means of three eyelets in the head, and at the other end to a hemp-covered ring, possibly made of bamboo.
Dimensions
  • From the top of the crown to the hem of the skirt height: 97.0cm
  • Minimum (arms by her sides) width: 36.0cm
  • Maximum (arms outstretched) width: 97.0cm
Style
Object history
Purchased for the museum by the museum curator Susan Gowenlock, 1986, from Ranganatha Rao, a puppeteer who described it as a wooden rod puppet of Krishna from Karnataka, Bangalore.
Summary
A Bommalattam puppet, like this one from the troupe of Mr. M.R. Ranganatha Rao from Bangalore, is not strictly a marionette since it has detachable rod attachments as well as three strings. The strings are fixed to the puppet's head, along with a wooden knob, which helps the puppeteer to move the puppet when not performing. The name comes from the words bomma, or doll, and lattam, meaning dance.

The puppets are made of light wood, which is hollowed out. The head and torso are separate, but the head is not articulated. The puppets have movable arms, jointed at the shoulder, elbow and wrist with knotted string. The puppets have no legs, but a long skirt often made from a complete length of sari to give it a full appearance. Originally Bommalattam performances took place in the open, without a stage, when the feet of the puppeteer would become those of the puppet, showing from under its long skirt.

Ranganatha Rao's troupe, which performed at the Hyderabad Puppet Festival in the 1986, consisted of nine members, mostly from the same family. Three men manipulated the puppets, whilst a girl helped attach rods and pass the puppets to the operators during the performance. The storyteller, or Bhagavata, sang througout the performance and sat with the musicians - a drummer, a violinist and a harmonium player - behind the stage. He was joined at times by a female singer who sang the female parts. Sometimes the puppeteers themselves would speak on behalf of their puppets.
Collection
Accession number
S.1458-1986

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdSeptember 22, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest