Collectibles    

Handcrafted Classical Hand Puppet--Dragon King (CoHP04)

Aim for an attention-getting look with these divine hand crafted puppets outfitted with elegantly embroidered Chinese dragon robe.  Gracious and stunning, the classical hand puppet makes a gracious family heirloom. You'll fall in love with the gorgeous craftsmanship of this one-of-a-kind collectible.

Other details of the classical hand puppet include:

hands and feet: made of plastic;

costume: made of silk/rayon (exclusive of decorations) with dragon embroidery

Hand puppetry, also known as Cloth Bag Opera (called budai mu'ouxi in Chinese) is a type of local opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in China's Fujian province, and has been historically practiced in Guangdong, Taiwan, and other parts of southern China. 

The puppet's head uses wood carved into the shape of a hollow human head, the puppet's torso and limbs consist entirely of cloth costumes. At the time of the performance, a master puppeteer enters one hand into the puppet's costume and makes it perform.  In previous years the puppets used in this type of performance strongly resembled "cloth sacks," hence the name, which literally means "cloth bag opera." 

Today, not only the opera is popular in China, but also the making of the puppet, including the delicate face painting and the beautiful embroidery of costumes becomes a unique and elegant folk art.

Our Price: US$47.95