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Shadow puppet, wayang kulit, representing Lembusura, a demon with a bull's head, who appears in the Ramayana. It is made from parchment and decorated with polychrome pigment and pierced detailing. There is a Javanese incription on the section in between the puppet's feet, probably the maker's or character's name. The puppet is attached to a central spliced wooden rod with vegetable fibre. It has a single articulated arm, which would once have been manipulated by means of a rod.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk
