Summary

Hand made marionette depicting a guard of the underwater King Neptune. 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

Marionette depicting a guard of Nepturne, which is dressed in green. A green cotton-type fabric covers his arms, torso and has been used to make mid-length pants. His legs and feet have been painted green. There is only one hole in the felt on the soles of his feet. A green net-type fabric shot with silver has been draped around the Neptune guard, with a collar made of gold netting. He wears a matching green net hat shot with silver. He has odd hands: one appears to be pre-made (ie. once belonging to a doll) it is a shiny peach colour and is quite chipped; the other hand is made of wood (like the other puppets) and has not been painted. Both forearms have been painted green which is very faded and chipped. He has a very rosy complexion, a large red nose, and green rings painted around his eyes. The nose is not smooth like the rest of the face. There are small cracks in his forehead and some deeper ones around his mouth. Previous eyebrows can be seen through the paint. His grey hair is largely intact at the back of head, has disintegrated on the top and right-hand side of head. There are operating strings attached to numerous parts of him, including his head, limps and shoulders. The feet have been weighted

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