Hand Puppet Item Number: 3453/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Hand puppet of a mouse groom. Hands and feet are made of cast resin, head has an internal wooden cone, covered in cast resin. All components are painted. Head and hands are light brown. Black lines painted across face and neck, imitating fur. He has black eyes and black bushy eyebrows. Nostrils are red, and have white whiskers below. His mouth is a long red line, with two long front teeth. Oval-like ears on either side of his head. Groom is wearing a dark grey, two-piece suit, with a white collared shirt, dark red bow tie and black shoes. Jacket is secured with two buttons along the front centre, and has a chest pocket and two flap pockets. Pants are plain. Puppet is operated by inserting a hand inside the body to control its head and movements.
Hand puppets depicting Ah Lang and Zhen Zhu, the mouse bride and groom. The pair (3453/1-2) are contemporary copies of puppets that feature in a play titled "The Wedding (or Marriage) of the Mice". They were performed by Robin Ruizendaal at the Museum of Marionettes, in 2010 in Lisbon.