Marionette of Columbine
Puppet
ca.1928
ca.1928
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This beautifully carved and lifelike marionette is easy to manipulate due to its excellent construction and weight. It was carved by the artist Arthur Wilkinson (1882-1957) who was inspired to make puppets in 1914 by some toy Italian puppets. He started as a professional puppeteer by touring England in a caravan with his brother Walter and performing with puppets he carved.Walter Wilkinson went on to concentrate on the revival of glove puppetry in Britain, while Arthur Wilkinson continued with marionettes.
By the 1920s Arthur Wilkinson was so concerned that puppetry had become neglected in England that he began The Marionette Society to produce marionette theatre throughout the country. He launched the society with a performances at the Poetry Bookshop in London in November 1923, using his own figures including Harlequin, Columbine, the dragon and Pantaloon. By 1928 he had carved the remarkable set of marionettes, illustrated on a flyer for his show and including Pagliacci and Pimpinella, and Harlequin and Columbine. After Arthur Wilkinson married Lily Gair they became known as the 'Gair Wilkinson Marionettes' and he later assumed the name Gair Wilkinson professionally.
The original costume of this marionette was oversewn with gold lurex fabric, probably in the 1950s, to make a replacement dress. The parts of the replacement dress were removed and preserved, but made a weightier type of dress not in keeping with lightness and delicacy of the original dress and appearance of the marionette.
By the 1920s Arthur Wilkinson was so concerned that puppetry had become neglected in England that he began The Marionette Society to produce marionette theatre throughout the country. He launched the society with a performances at the Poetry Bookshop in London in November 1923, using his own figures including Harlequin, Columbine, the dragon and Pantaloon. By 1928 he had carved the remarkable set of marionettes, illustrated on a flyer for his show and including Pagliacci and Pimpinella, and Harlequin and Columbine. After Arthur Wilkinson married Lily Gair they became known as the 'Gair Wilkinson Marionettes' and he later assumed the name Gair Wilkinson professionally.
The original costume of this marionette was oversewn with gold lurex fabric, probably in the 1950s, to make a replacement dress. The parts of the replacement dress were removed and preserved, but made a weightier type of dress not in keeping with lightness and delicacy of the original dress and appearance of the marionette.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
|
| Title | Marionette of Columbine (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved and painted wood, with sewn fabric and strings |
| Brief description | Marionette of Columbine from the Gair Wilkinson troupe. Carved and painted wood, cotton, felt and string. Made by Arthur Wilkinson, English, ca. 1928 |
| Physical description | S.114-1987 Stringed marionette of Columbine with wooden control bars. Carved and painted limbs and features. She is wearing a white cotton dress with appliqué motifs of yellow and green felt sunflowers and red flowers around the hem line of the skirt S.114A-1987 Tube of gold lurex fabric with inserted pad to form breast shape, sewn over the shoulder of the marionette's original dress from the front to the back waistband, to form one side of the bodice of a replacement dress made at a later date S.114B-1987 Tube of gold lurex fabric with inserted pad to form breast shape, sewn over the shoulder of the marionette's original dress from the front to the back waistband, to form another side of the bodice of a replacement dress S.114C-1987 Tube of gold lurex fabric, sewn around the waistline of the marionette's original dress to form the waistband of a replacement dress S.114D-1987 Gathered skirt of gold lurex fabric, sewn over the marionette's original dress to form the waistband of a replacement dress |
| Credit line | Given by Frances Gair Miller |
| Summary | This beautifully carved and lifelike marionette is easy to manipulate due to its excellent construction and weight. It was carved by the artist Arthur Wilkinson (1882-1957) who was inspired to make puppets in 1914 by some toy Italian puppets. He started as a professional puppeteer by touring England in a caravan with his brother Walter and performing with puppets he carved.Walter Wilkinson went on to concentrate on the revival of glove puppetry in Britain, while Arthur Wilkinson continued with marionettes. By the 1920s Arthur Wilkinson was so concerned that puppetry had become neglected in England that he began The Marionette Society to produce marionette theatre throughout the country. He launched the society with a performances at the Poetry Bookshop in London in November 1923, using his own figures including Harlequin, Columbine, the dragon and Pantaloon. By 1928 he had carved the remarkable set of marionettes, illustrated on a flyer for his show and including Pagliacci and Pimpinella, and Harlequin and Columbine. After Arthur Wilkinson married Lily Gair they became known as the 'Gair Wilkinson Marionettes' and he later assumed the name Gair Wilkinson professionally. The original costume of this marionette was oversewn with gold lurex fabric, probably in the 1950s, to make a replacement dress. The parts of the replacement dress were removed and preserved, but made a weightier type of dress not in keeping with lightness and delicacy of the original dress and appearance of the marionette. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.114-1987 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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