Marionette of Harlequin, originally from the Barnard Troupe, used in a marionette pantomime. Carved and painted wood with fabric clothes, ca. 1880

Carved and painted wooden marionette of Harlequin with a black woollen fabric mask. His upper arms and waist are of stuffed calico, his hands and lower arms are carved in one and his hands are painted in detail. There is also carved detail on the ears. His thighs are jointed to his calves, and his calves to his feet which are painted as with white stockings and black pumps. He has real hair at the back of his head and a carved and painted moustache. The costume is in cream, brown, green, orange, sage, purple, black and gold triangles edged with sequins, with a leather belt, a lace jabot trimmed with pink ribbon and lace at the wrists. There are two knee strings and two hand strings and one string above each ear, fixed to a wooden three bar control.

Puppet companies travelled around Britain in the late 19th century, performing at fairgrounds in canvas theatres, known as 'fit-ups'. Company members made and dressed the puppets, and wrote and performed the scripts, recreating the popular theatre of the day in puppet form. Pantomimes, melodramas and music hall shows were presented. Harlequin and Columbine, characters that had developed from the Italian Commedia dell'arte, were stars of 19th-century pantomime so it is not surprising that they appeared in puppet shows. This marionette was used by the Barnard Troupe.

S.720-1990