Summary

Hand made marionette depicting a male guard. It was manufactured and operated in Melbourne by Alex and Murray Smith, who performed as part of Le Forgeron Marionettes from 1930 until 1956.

Physical Description

A marionette of a male guard, which is clothed in a red jacket with a black belt and green pants, none of which are made of natural fibres. His pants have some small holes and are slightly discoloured. There is frayed gold fabric decoration on his shoulders. He carries a shield made of gold painted plywood with gold plastic decoration which includes a female's profile. The guard also bears a stave which is made of a tall cylindrical piece of wood with plastic gold ornamentation at the top. His hat is of woven synthetic green straw and remains predominately intact. He has a goofy expression on his face which is good condition, although he has lost some of his beard. His head is not securely attached to his neck so his head bops around (intentionally). There is a piece of wire which protrudes from the back of his shoulders. The guard is attached to a small mechanism. There are operating strings attached to numerous parts of him, including her head, limps and shoulders. The feet have been weighted

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