Vintage Mid - 20th Century Indonesian Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppet Of Adhiratha
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:53009718 | Provenance: Ownership History Available |
| Handmade: Yes | Country/Region of Manufacture: Indonesia |
| Modified Item: No | Culture: Indonesian |
Vintage Mid-20th Century Indonesian Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppet of Adhiratha. Condition is "Used". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
Vintage mid-20th century Indonesian/Javanese Wayang shadow puppet of Adhiratha, 27" tall including the stand. Condition is used, has some color flaking, some minor parchment curling. Please see photos. This puppets is hand made from painted buffalo skin (parchment), with wooden rods to move the articulated arms. According to a “Durang” (a puppet mast...er) in Uban Bali, this puppet is the character, "Adhiratha", from the great epic called, Ramayana, telling stories about the adventures of ancient Indian Hindu gods. This puppet is part a large collection assembled by an American expat living in Asia from the 1960s to the1980s. It was then brought to the USA and put in climate controlled storage until 2012. Thus its current condition should be the same as it was when collected many years ago. It was not made for the tourist but is a true collector item showing wear from long time use. Please look over the photos carefully to determine its condition. Wayang performances are a very ancient form of theater and still very popular in Indonesian and much of Asia. The puppet master manipulates the puppets behind a screen with a light behind him. The audience sits in front of the screen and sees only the projected black shadow. Most local performance are done at night and are accompanied by an orchestra of mostly percussion instruments (gongs, Xylophones etc.) called Gamelan. They can last for up to 12 hours. THE STORY OF ADHIRATHAAdhiratha was the leader of all Sutas (the caste generally employed as charioteers) and royal charioteers. Although he was a charioteer, he was a learned scholar, and a master in all kinds of arts. Adhiratha is the foster father of, Karna, (the spiritual son of the Vedic deity-Surya ("sun god") and was Bhishma’s charioteer. As a baby, Karna was castaway in a basket on a river by his mother Kuntî, and later found by Adhiratha and his wife Radha who raised him as their own son. Adhiratha descended from King Yayati and an ancestor to Pandeva related to Krishna and others of the Pandeva clan. He was also the descendant of a king of Anga and brother-in-law of a descendant of the king of Ayodhya. Karna loved his foster parents very much, and after becoming a king had his foster parents stay with him in his palace. Adhiratha favored, and was related to, the Pandavas faction during the Kurukshetra war (a fight between cousins to rule the kingdom). He was unhappy when his son, King Karnas, supported the enemy Kauravas army but because of his love for his son joined the Kauravas and fought against his own relatives. He was also present in the palace during the dice game when the Pandavas lost and were banned from the kingdom and banished to the forest. After his death, he went to the abode of Lord Indra, the “Swarka Loka”, one of the seven Heavenly Hindu worlds.
Vintage mid-20th century Indonesian/Javanese Wayang shadow puppet of Adhiratha, 27" tall including the stand. Condition is used, has some color flaking, some minor parchment curling. Please see photos. This puppets is hand made from painted buffalo skin (parchment), with wooden rods to move the articulated arms. According to a “Durang” (a puppet mast...er) in Uban Bali, this puppet is the character, "Adhiratha", from the great epic called, Ramayana, telling stories about the adventures of ancient Indian Hindu gods. This puppet is part a large collection assembled by an American expat living in Asia from the 1960s to the1980s. It was then brought to the USA and put in climate controlled storage until 2012. Thus its current condition should be the same as it was when collected many years ago. It was not made for the tourist but is a true collector item showing wear from long time use. Please look over the photos carefully to determine its condition. Wayang performances are a very ancient form of theater and still very popular in Indonesian and much of Asia. The puppet master manipulates the puppets behind a screen with a light behind him. The audience sits in front of the screen and sees only the projected black shadow. Most local performance are done at night and are accompanied by an orchestra of mostly percussion instruments (gongs, Xylophones etc.) called Gamelan. They can last for up to 12 hours. THE STORY OF ADHIRATHAAdhiratha was the leader of all Sutas (the caste generally employed as charioteers) and royal charioteers. Although he was a charioteer, he was a learned scholar, and a master in all kinds of arts. Adhiratha is the foster father of, Karna, (the spiritual son of the Vedic deity-Surya ("sun god") and was Bhishma’s charioteer. As a baby, Karna was castaway in a basket on a river by his mother Kuntî, and later found by Adhiratha and his wife Radha who raised him as their own son. Adhiratha descended from King Yayati and an ancestor to Pandeva related to Krishna and others of the Pandeva clan. He was also the descendant of a king of Anga and brother-in-law of a descendant of the king of Ayodhya. Karna loved his foster parents very much, and after becoming a king had his foster parents stay with him in his palace. Adhiratha favored, and was related to, the Pandavas faction during the Kurukshetra war (a fight between cousins to rule the kingdom). He was unhappy when his son, King Karnas, supported the enemy Kauravas army but because of his love for his son joined the Kauravas and fought against his own relatives. He was also present in the palace during the dice game when the Pandavas lost and were banned from the kingdom and banished to the forest. After his death, he went to the abode of Lord Indra, the “Swarka Loka”, one of the seven Heavenly Hindu worlds.
