glove puppet; tea cosy

Item is both a glove puppet and a tea cosy in the form of a standing woman. She has joined eyebrows; long eyelashes; a snub nose; a pale complexion and long black hair. She is wearing a low, square hat, doppe, made from a gold fabric bordered with purple; small earrings made from blue and red triangular, glass beads in a gold wire frame; a necklace of similar construction and a long, black dress made from synthetic fabric in orange, purple, blue and green, embroidered with flowers and chains. She is also wearing a waistcoat made from red cloth, which is faced in gold, green and black, has a central circular motif at the rear, and is trimmed around the armpits. The lining of the puppet is grey/green, factory made, quilted material in order that it can double as a tea cosy.
Her right hand makes the gesture of welcome and goodbye (palm flat on the heart) and she holds a circle of bread (NAN/NON) with black and green grapes; some are detached.

The dress was described as "traditional Uzbek" by the vendor but K. Teague suspects that it may be more typical of Tadjik clothing (as Samarkand, although in Uzbekistan, is heavily populated by Tadjiks).

This puppet/tea cosy was purchased at shops in Registan, in Samarkand, thus it is presumed that it was made in this city and by a local, Russian woman. However, the Registan shops in Samarkand also stock puppets made in Khiva and Bukhara, for sale on the tourist market, so a precise provenance for the manufacture of this item may be dubious.