The three theatre deities remain in the background of the stage during each performance. They are offered a sacrifice before the performance. This is because each puppet represents a specific gift, which can be recognised by its feet: black boots mean career, red ones stand for fertility. The puppet on the right climbs barefoot into the sea to fish and thus becomes rich. But most importantly, the gods never look north.
Company:
Lao Mei Chunxiang
Construction & Performance:
not yet established
Date:
first half of the 20th century, China
Material:
clay, wood, textiles, metal, paper
Provenance:
1984, sold by Lothar Heubel to Fritz Fey junior (now in the KOLK 17 collection)