THREE SICILIAN STRING AND ROD PUPPETS
20TH CENTURY
£1,375
Auction: 28 February 2018 from 11:00 GMT
Description
painted wood, fabric and metal, comprising BRANDIMARTE from Orlando Furioso, 75cm x 35cm x 25cm; ANGELICA, in armour with sword and shield, 86cm x 19cm x 10cm and RINALDO, in armour with sword and shield, 59cm x 23cm x 13cm (3)
Footnote
Note: The large Sicilian knight, Brandimarte, was given to John Blundall by Antonio Pasqualino, founder of the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions and the International Puppet Museum in Palermo, in exchange for some Punch and Judy items.
Traditional Sicilian marionette are very heavy and have metal rods to their heads with strings attached only to the hands. The puppet's sword-arm is controlled by a metal rod to support the weapon in the clenched hand.