String Puppet Item Number: 3480/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
String puppet mounted on a hooked metal rod. Male character has wooden face, hands and legs. Hands and face are painted beige. Top of head painted black, imitating hair. He has a long nose, rounded cheeks and wide eyes. Eyes are white, with black pupils and outlines, and have rounded eyebrows overtop, also done in black. Tip of nose and mouth are painted red. Calves are painted grey, to imitate boots, and thighs are covered in black fabric. He wears full, dark gold-coloured body armour, with raised curvilinear and geometric motifs throughout. There is a central design of a bronze-coloured eagle on his chest plate, with bronze highlights along his knee and shin guards. A sword sheath, with a decorated bottom, is attached to the waist, on his left side. Beneath his armour, he wears an orange-red skirt, with sparkly dark brown bands along the bottom edge. His helmet, adorned with an eagle, has a plume of white, black and sparkly green feathers. Dark gold-coloured shield tied to left forearm. Shield has same raised motifs and central eagle design as armour. The right hand has a hooked metal rod attached to the wrist, and is clenched in a fist with a circle through it. A small silver-coloured sword fits through the hole. The body is jointed at the elbows, shoulders, hips and knees, with the limbs held together by fabric underneath the armour. Strings are attached to the visor, left hand, shield, left leg, and sword.
This type of rod puppet was used in the Charlemagne dramas.