Wayang is a generic term describing a shadow puppet show that was
developed in Southeast Asia.
Believed to have developed in India, the Indonesians adopted the style
and raised it to a major cultural icon.
The audience sits on one side of a white screen while the Dalang
(puppeteer) sits on the other side. A strong light is directed at the
puppet which causes a shadow on the
screen which the audience sees. The very detailed puppets are
made from buffalo hide and are mounted on bamboo sticks.
Most of the plays are romantic tales and are adaptations of the
Mahabharata and Ramayana, although local stories are also told.
Traditions and morals are taught to the children as they watch the play
unfold.
This series of flatware show extensive cutout work. If you are not
familiar with this technique --
click here
Both spoons are 800 silver.
These pieces are fairly large so I have included a ruler at the bottom
and a normal tea sized spoon to help you visualize the size
The stem represents bamboo
I suspect that both of these servers were intended to serve various
types of flat foods
notice the extensive cutout work of the puppet figure along with the
extensive foilage
Unusual cutout work showing a caterpillar. Insects on silver flatware
is quite unusual.
Fairly large meat fork made of 800 purity silver
The wayang figure in the finial is cut out by hand
Click to see next exhibit in this series
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click to return to spoon planet main exhibit
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