A wayang golek rod puppet representing Adipati Karna, carved and painted wood with a gilded headdress and batik skirt, West Java, Indonesia, Javanese culture, collected 1974 to 1976. Wayang golek performances stage episodes of the Mahabharata for Javanese audiences; this puppet gives Karna, Kunti's concealed first son and Duryodhana's ally against his own half-brothers, his performance form. Held today by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, accession 361230, USNM E431808-0.
Facts
Physical Form
MediumWayang golek rod puppet, carved and painted wood, West Java, Indonesia, collected 1974 to 1976, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History 361230 (USNM E431808-0) 1 Medium (class) Connections
Associated With
This source names Indonesia directly: "headdress and batik skirt, West Java, Indonesia, Javanese culture, collected 1974 to 1976."
Source Wayang Golek Puppet: Adipati Karna, accession 361230 (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
Belongs to Tradition
Source Wayang Golek Puppet: Adipati Karna, accession 361230 (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
Depicts
Karna, Figures The Smithsonian's own catalogue title and note name Adipati Karna directly as this wayang golek puppet's subject, an illegitimate son of King Pandu who allied with another king and court in the Mahabharata stories, matching Karna's standing as Kunti's concealed first son and Duryodhana's ally.
Source Wayang Golek Puppet: Adipati Karna, accession 361230 (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
Sources
1. Draupadi, accession IS.131-1951 (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Victoria and Albert Museum
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