Lion Shadow Puppet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Shadow puppet of a lion mounted on paper in modern glazed frame. Black paint of red-tinted and pierced animal skin. Made in China, c. 1850-1925.

Shadow puppets, flat pieces of leather or paper carved into shapes of animals, human figures, and scenery, are designed to be manipulated in front of a lamp, thereby projecting images on a screen. When combined with narration and music, these puppets create spectacular performances of ancient legends. Adored by young and old, the shadow theater has existed side by side with the living theater for centuries in China. Since its beginnings, this drama form has been as much a craft as it has been theater. In technique and origin, shadow puppets are closely related to papercuts, dating back to the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). Most historians now trace the origins of shadow puppetry to the Song Dynasty, a time of great wealth and tranquillity, a fertile time for advancement in all the arts. Tang records from Southern China describe Buddhist monks reciting sutras with illustrations or images lit by lanterns. Several points link the shadow theater with Buddhism. Fascination with shadow puppets spread abroad with missionary and commercial contact with China. How this particular shadow puppet made it to America is not clear. He was transferred from the collection of the Cooper Hewitt with very little information attached other than acknowledgment of his Chinese origin.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1850 - 1925
• transfer: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
• Object Name: Puppet
• Physical Description: skin, animal (overall material)
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 18 in x 24 in x 1 1/2 in; 45.72 cm x 60.96 cm x 3.81 cm
• place made: China
• Subject: Puppetry
• ID Number: 1999.0183.04
• accession number: 1999.0183
• catalog number: 1999.0183.04
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.