"The Djinn"

Male glove puppet with a central rod; puppet is of the djinn in the puppet play of Aladdin. The head is made from a gourd and is notable for its 'lumpiness'. The puppet has wispy, brown hair; long eyelashes; a beard and moustache; wide eyes rimmed with pink; prominent cheekbones and a prominent nose. He is dressed in a choker of black, blue, red, yellow and white stitching and a green, faux-ikat robe, trimmed down the front opening, hem and cuffs with blue and white fabric. The robe is tied at the waist with the same material. Underneath the robe the puppet is wearing an off-white undershirt.

This puppet was made under the auspices of "Aid for Artisans" (see 2001.197). This character may also be played in the Samarkand production of "Aladdin" (see Samarkand puppets 2001.184; 2001.185; 2001.186; 2001.187; 2001.188); puppeteers often lend each other puppets . The long eyelashes are particularly significant since they indicate shamanic ability (see Basilov, V. N. 1989. Nomads of Eurasia (University of Washington Press: London).

Collection Information

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