Antique wooden and brass marionette.

Fantastic antique articulated puppet. Carved in wood, it incorporates engraved brass armour and cloth costume. The face is hand-painted and depicts an Arabian warrior. The body of the puppet is covered with armour consisting of brass shoulder pads, breastplate, armlets, kneepad, greba and scarf. All of these are engraved on the brass. In one hand he holds a brass shield and in the other an alfanje (a short sword of Eastern Muslim descent). As a decorative object, it has an iron hook for hanging.

Puppets and marionettes throughout the centuries have represented infinite characters made with different materials and techniques, from the most primitive to the most modern, fulfilling different purposes. In the Egyptian civilisation, puppets were used for religious ceremonies and consisted of spring-loaded statues, animated with head and arm movements. The ancient Greeks enjoyed amusing moments with puppet theatres, which moved head and arms by means of strings. The most perfect ancient puppets were made in China out of wood and moved eyebrows, eyes, mouths and fingers.