Summary

Hand made marionette depicting a male guard in uniform. 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 male guard, who is clothed in a red jacket with a black belt and green pants, which 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 staff, which is made of a tall cylindrical piece of wood with plastic gold ornamentation at the top - this has been broken in half. His hat is of woven synthetic green straw and remains predominantly intact. The guard's face is quite worn, the paintwork is faded and cracked. His black hair is disintegrating and has become quite detached from his face/head. His head is not securely attached to his neck so his head bops around, although his head appears to have become a little looser than intended. There is a piece of wire protruding from the back of his shoulders. The guard has a three piece mechanism. There are operating strings attached to numerous parts of him, including his head, limbs and shoulders. The feet have been weighted

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