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Burmese Elephant Marionette (yokthe pwe puppet)

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This wooden elephant puppet is from Myanmar (Burma). It dates from the first half of the twentieth century and was used in ‘yoke thé  (yokthe pwe), traditional Burmese puppet theatre. It has articulated legs, ears and trunk, and is controlled by strings attached to its head and back.

Yoke thé performances contain a number of traditional characters, both animals and humans, including the elephant, monkey, horse, prince, minister and alchemist. The puppets are highly intricate, with up to nineteen wires controlled by a single puppeteer. Yoke thé performances declined after the British colonisation of Burma in the late-nineteenth century

Paint, wood, glass stones.