Puppet of Columbine
Puppet
ca. 1880 (made)
ca. 1880 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Puppet of Columbine (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Hand-painted and carved wood, hair, mixed fabrics and thread |
| Brief description | Marionette of Columbine, originally from the Barnard Troupe, used in a marionette pantomime. Carved and painted wood with fabric clothes, ca. 1880 |
| Physical description | Carved and painted wooden marionette of Columbine. Her arms are carved and partially bent, and her neck is jointed. Her hair is real. She wears a pink silk dress with short sleeves, the neck and sleeves trimmed with lace, the silk of the skirt cut into triangles decorated with sequins and attached to a stiffened gauze petticoat of many layers. She has stiff gauze knickers, cream stockings to her ankles, and painted gold shoes. There are two knee strings and two hand strings and one string above each ear, fixed to a wooden three bar control. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Summary | 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. |
| Associated object | S.720-1990 (Object) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.721-1990 |
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| Record created | November 17, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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