Audrey: Well, not wanting to disappoint people who really like puppets but the camera clicker found most of the puppets rather creepy so ...Lillian: Of course, creepy is in the eye of the beholder - you know, some people find Blythe dolls a bit creepy ...
Audrey: Well! huff there is no accounting for taste!
Lillian: These Ballerina marionettes are quite lovely
as is this Lady from Venice and dating from the 1700s.Lillian: Our photographer is somewhat obsessed about historical costume and textiles - especially lace.
The lace over-skirt on that marionette is very lovely - possibly hand embroidered on muslin. Of course, puppets' clothes are like dolls' - often made from left-over scraps or cut-down from human sized garments. So they can be a source for fabulous textiles.
Audrey: Although the camera clicker didn't take many photos of the puppets - she did take some close-up pictures of the lace on their clothes.
Lillian: This Don Quixote gent had a wonderful outfit - including this lace. Had it been a human's cravat end or a cuff frill? Definitely hand made but we're unsure what type of lace it is.
More research needed.
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| An expensively attired lady puppet |
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| bobbin lace - would we call this Cluny style? |
Lillian: This gent is wearing a lot of lace - a simple bobbin lace for his cravat and on his coat is some gold lace.
Audrey: What - real gold?!!Lillian: Yes, thread with thin strips of real gold wrapped around it. It must've been stiff & difficult to work with but they made bobbin lace from it - and it was sold by weight.
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| from Java, 1850 |
Lillian: And this chap is a Kasparek, from Prague, 1928. Kasparek or Kasperle / Kasper is a German / Austrian tradition - he is rather like the English Punch (and Judy). The French have their own version and he originated in Lyon and his name is Guignol.
Guignol was created around 1808 by Laurent Mourguet - like the English Punch he is rather violent and uses a split stick as a weapon (the split stick makes a loud noise - which is why it is called a slap-stick ... )
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| This Guignol puppet was made by Mourguet |
In the stories Guignol is often a silkweaver (like much of his original audience) and he is always very poor. He is cheeky, clever & courageous - has a strong sense of justice and inevitably the story is of triumph of good over evil.
Audrey: Guignol is a glove puppet - whereas the Kasperle is a marionette, on strings.
Lillian: Yes, the English Punch is traditionally a glove puppet too. We should say that the French use the word marionette for all puppets and those with strings are called marionettes à tringle et fils or marionettes à fils.
Audrey: I found a statue of Laurent Mourguet near the museum - the top part is quite charming with Mourguet interacting with the puppet he created ...
but on the side - some of that slap-stick violence you were talking about
just above that unpleasantness, there is a reference to silk weaving with a bobbin of thread, clippers ... a shuttle ...Lillian: But back to the museum for a bit - because the buildings are quite lovely examples of Renaissance architecture.
Audrey: With a tower and courtyards ...
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| A nice doorway |
Audrey: But best of all was the very thoughtfully provided Blythe swimming pool ...
And when we got back to our hotel - the mural at the entrance made far more sense ...
Hello Guignol!
