There were Asian artwork, screens, furniture, garden seats, bronze figurines and more. The auction house seems to hold these regularly, and they produce some pretty sprightly bidding. I wasn’t buying, but I decided to hang out among the 35 or more people there to see what sold and for how much. 

 
As I checked out the bid sheet, my eyes rested on something with an intriguing name: Six Burmese Shadow Puppets. I had not seen any puppets when I cursorily previewed the items on the tables. So, from my chair I turned to peruse the tables again for small hand-held puppets, the kind I was used to seeing. 

Nothing. Then I checked the number of the items on the bid sheet. That’s when I found them – large flat colorful tin-like figures, painted and gilded, hanging on a wall. There were four attached to the wall, each with rods protruding from the bottom and hanging from each arm. Two were framed without rods. 

As I looked at them closely, I saw that they were not made of tin, but appeared to be hand-painted paper. I would find out later that I was wrong. 

The bid sheet described them this way: Six Burmese shadow puppets, polychromed w/quill supports. Two are framed without quill supports, mid 20^th century, from 18″ to 36″. 

The lot sold for $500. Now I was definitely curious about what they were and how they were used, and couldn’t wait to get home to Google them. 

First, I learned that these were not Burmese shadow puppets. In fact, one website noted that the people of Burma – officially known as Myanmar – have never made shadow puppets, and others noted that puppets made in this country were marionettes. The wooden marionettes were carved by master sculptors under strict rules. On stage, the marionettes’ movements were manipulated with strings by puppeteers performing behind a curtain, telling stories about the country’s legends. 

They have been around since the 11^th century and were used as entertainment for royalty and ordinary citizens. The performances were held at night and brought the citizens both gossip and news. 

The figures sold at the auction appeared to be Indonesian shadow puppets, similar to ones on the islands of Java and Bali. Java is considered the hub of shadow puppetry, its history dating back 1,000 years. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located there. 

The shadow puppets I found via Google were flat, colored and gilded. They, too, were made by skilled craftsman using methods steeped in culture and history – just like the puppets. They were part of what is called Wayang Kulit, a form of traditional theater in Indonesia. 

Wayang, which means theater or shadow, is believed to have been brought into the country by Asian Indians after the first century. In Java, performances are held on holidays, at religious festivals, weddings and other events. 

The puppets are made from buffalo hide, and are either mounted on bamboo sticks or buffalo horns with control rods on their arms, according to various websites. During the performance, they are used to tell the familiar story of the two great historical epics of India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Some stories are also based on local events. The performances are largely held at night, and it takes about eight hours to weave the tale, the theme of which is good over evil. 

The stories are chosen and narrated by a trained and respected dalang, who manipulates the rods and his voice to fashion the story. He is accompanied by a traditional orchestra called a gamelan. The performance is conducted behind a white curtain or cloth with a lamp that produces shadows on the screen. 

Watch this YouTube video to see what the audience sees and this one to see the dalang at work.   

On the web, I found shadow puppets selling individually for around $20 to about $90. Not sure, though, if they were the real thing.

Related posts:

1. A tale of Uncle Jim’s skin shoes

I had seen several like it the day before, about eight of them, on the set of a raucous, loud, energized preview performance of the music of Nigerian artist Fela Anikulapo Kuti at a Broadway play bearing the single name of Fela! (Check out the video at that site). The set was a reproduction of the musician’s Shrine nightclub in Lagos, Nigeria, the walls extended out into the audience and decorated with drawings, baskets and masks. Putting us in the middle of the party.  The wall of white-faced masks was not far from where I sat with friends.

As I looked closer at the mask at auction Sunday, I saw that some of the white chalk had rubbed off, almost down to the wood. The black paint denoting hair around the edge was still intact, as were as the brows. The eyes were slits. This mask looked more like a monkey mask. I bought it, though, because it appealed to me.

The ones on the set at the Fela musical Saturday were Igbo maiden spirit masks, in the shapes of women’s faces and heads, some with defined hairstyles. The white chalk represented the color of the spirit, and the masks themselves symbolized beauty and peacefulness. In the Igbo cultures of Nigeria, they are worn by elaborately costumed men in ritualized dances to female ancestors.

On Satuday, in one especially powerful scene in the musical, the actor Fela (played by Kevin Mambo) marked his face with chalk - white circles around his eyes and mouth, lines crossing his face. He donned the markings for a surreal visit to the spirit world to talk to his mother (Mom, played by Lillias White, can sing!).

I came across Fela’s music some years before he died in 1997. I recall reading a review of one of his concerts in my weekly newsmagazine (I believe it was a review or story in Newsweek). When I read that he was a protest singer, I knew I wanted to hear his music and his lyrics (he wrote in a pidgin language so all Nigerians could understand his words). So I went out and bought one of his albums – an old copy of “Shuffering and Shmiling” from 1985. I hadn’t heard it in years before seeing the play. And hearing it once again reminded me of why I bought the album. Like the musical, it makes you want to move.

Fela’s Afrobeat rhythms were on full-blast-high Saturday, and the actor Fela owned the stage, infusing it with the personality of the man who was hated by the Nigerian government. The actor protested in song (“Zombie,” one of Fela’s most popular, which attacks Nigerian soldiers) and in monologues (including a long scene to show how far the government would go to flush out evidence against him). You can watch and listen to one of Fela’s actual concerts.

The lyrics were beautiful, the singing was superb and the dancers could really shake a tail-feather.

In his life and the musical, Fela railed against the Nigerian government,  and was beaten and jailed numerous times because of his stances. His Shrine nightclub was part of an independent commune he set up in Lagos in defiance of what he considered a corrupt government. The incident that had the most effect on him there was the 1977 death of his mother at the hands of soldiers.

If you’re in the New York area and want to party, stop by Fela! It opens Nov. 23 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater, 230 W. 49^th St.

Side note: This has nothing to do with the Fela concert, but is about the Igbo peoples. Legend says that when a slave ship landed off the coast of St. Simon’s Island, GA, the Africans on board, all Igbos – embarked, still in chains – made a decision. Rather than live as slaves, they walked back into the ocean together and drowned. Now, the place – called Ebo (or Ibo) Landing - is supposedly haunted, and spirits are said to still roam. 

St. Simon’s is one of my most favorite islands. My family spent Christmas there some years ago, and I located the site of the legend. Didn’t go alone, took my niece with me. What we found was a quiet serene place overlooking the Atlantic. Maybe the spirits are at peace.

Related posts:

1. A treasure trove of African masks
2. Do I bring spirits home with me from auctions?
3. A witch ball for capturing evil spirits

I was reading a story in my local newspaper, the Philadephia Inquirer, this morning about a theater production that sells objects from its set before each night’s performance. 

So, if you attend the Gas & Electric Arts production of Cabinet of Wonders: An Impossible History, and see something you like, you can pay for it and take it home that night. Instant tag sale.

The company asked an antiques and collectibles dealer to fill the set with items found at actual flea markets, including 78 rpm records, ladies gloves, salt and pepper shakers, sofas, chairs, lamps and head vases. The prices start at 50 cents, and each new performance offers new buys.

What an innovative way to extend the performance by allowing your audience to take a piece of the experience home with them. 

Those of us who love auctions and flea markets may be willing to go see a play just to shop. Agree?

Related posts:

1. Flea market finds & fresh strawberries
2. Don’t insult the flea-market seller!
3. Flea-market sellers plea: ‘Why pick on me?’