Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Lao Sheng (old male), with a separate beard and headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Head and torso painted pink beige. Character has a long nose and ears. The mouth is painted dark red, eyes are black-rimmed. Eyebrows are black, streaked with silver, and there is black paint around the head, imitating hair. The character is wearing a green robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties, and a small right side slit. The sides of the robe have pink panels. Curvilinear and geometric motifs across robe, done in silver, dark pink-purple, red and yellow sequins. Dragon(?) design in dark pink-purple and silver sequins on both front and back centre of robe. Plaid undergarment beneath robe. Character has a matching collar, that secures at the front, with white animal hair(?) along bottom edge. Collar has wavy ribbon borders done in white and light pink. There are curvilinear motifs in silver and dark pink-purple throughout. The puppet's head is hollow. Rim of hollow opening is unpainted. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more are attached to each hand. Beard (part b) consists of long white fibre attached to a wire covered with string. Shaped to fit over ears and below mouth of puppet. Headdress (part c) is made of cardboard, with a metal frame, and is covered in light blue fabric. Headdress consists of a cap and backboard. The backboard is semi-circular, has green and yellow wavy ribbon borders and floral motifs done in silver and dark pink-purple sequins. The reverse of the backboard curves outwards, shaped by metal mesh, and has a floral motif done in silver and light blue sequins. Below is a solid band of light blue fabric with a curvilinear motif done in silver sequins. The cap component of the headdress, at the front, is shaped with metal mesh and has a large floral motif overtop of it. Motif done in gold glitter paint and silver and light blue sequins, with a green rhinestone at the centre. The bottom edge of the cap has a wavy green ribbon border and a band of silver sequins with yellow beads. There are two wing-like attachments at the back of the headdress. They are light blue, have no centre and the edges are lined with metal beads. Interior of headdress is painted silver. There are two red ties on either side of the headdress.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Lao Sheng (older male), with a separate beard. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Hands painted pink beige. Character has wide nose, moveable eye, large ears and a white painted face. Mouth is bright red, and there is a comma shaped marking underneath it. Eyes are black-rimmed, have black and pink lashes. Puppet has large, diagonal shaped bushy eyebrows done in black. Back of head and area around ears are painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a dark blue cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. The character is wearing a pink robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties and metal buttons, and a small right side slit. Opening and neckline bordered with a white band, with wavy green ribbons trimming it. The band has floral motifs done in silver, gold and pink sequins, with white and silver beads. There is a large silver sequin where the opening meets the left side of the robe. Robe has a dragon, phoenix, clouds, flowers and curvilinear designs embroidered throughout. Plaid undergarment beneath robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more are attached to each hand. Back of puppet's head was cut out and re-attached. Beard (part b) consists of long black and grey fibre attached to a wire covered with string. Shaped to fit over ears and below mouth of puppet.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Dan (lady). Head and hands are carved from wood. Head and left hand are painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted dark red, eyebrows are painted black and have sharp spikes in the middle. Eyes are black-rimmed and area around ears and back of head is painted black, imitating hair. She has black hair in a long braid, secured with a pink tie. The character is wearing a light brown-yellow plaid robe. It has a small opening at the neck, secured with a tie, and two small side slits. The robe is secured at the wrists with wire and secured at the neck with a metal button. Her right hand has a large hole through its centre, the left hand has a small one. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to her head, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Sheng (young male). Head, hands and torso are carved from wood. Components painted beige. Character has a small nose, large ears and moveable eyes. His mouth is painted dark red and his cheeks are rosy. Eyes are black-rimmed, eyebrows are painted black and have spikes in the middle. Area around ears and back of head are painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a dark grey-brown cap, nailed into place. Long, black strands of hair are attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a green robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with metal buttons and ties, and a small right side slit. Opening is bordered with a wide white band. Cuffs have red ribbon trim with gold and green floral motifs embroidered on them. Robe decorated with curvilinear motifs along the arms and a large linear design on the front centre. All motifs done in silver, pink, purple, blue and red sequins. Character is wearing a plaid undergarment beneath the robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his torso, and two more are attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod, with a metal attachment, inside of the central bamboo rod. The back of the puppet’s head has been cut out and re-attached.

A fishing basket [a] with lid [b] and rope [c]. The basket has a circular rim and square base. Very thin, flat strips of bamboo are woven across wider vertical strips to comprise the basket's main body. The weave is close, with only small gaps. The bottom of the basket is woven from wider bamboo strips, in a perpendicular fashion. Two thicker pieces of bamboo form an X-shaped base. The basket has four cylindrical feet, one at each corner. A thin strip extends from the base of each foot, and is woven into the basket so as to attach it. The rim of the basket is made from two larger, horizontal strips of bamboo that wrap all the way around. They are secured by groups of three thinner vertical strips staggered at 2-2.5 centimetre intervals. A circular piece of wood with a cut out centre is secured to the inner rim of the basket by four small nails. The top of the wood is covered with bamboo strips, which have been woven in a chevron pattern. The lid of the basket is small, flat, and circular in shape. It is made from a piece of wood, and is covered with bamboo strips which have been woven in a chevron pattern. The handle of the lid is a thin, straight block of bamboo with downward curved ends. It extends slightly past the base of the lid on both sides, and is secured through the bottom by three small nails. There is a small hole in one side of the handle. The lid was previously attached to the body of the basket via a braided, purple rope, however all three pieces are now separate. The basket and lid are both covered in a clear lacquer.

Multi-coloured paper-cut of the head of a Chinese opera character.

Multi-coloured paper-cut of the head of a Chinese opera character.

Multi-coloured paper-cut of the heads of two Chinese opera characters.

Multi-coloured paper-cut of the heads of two Chinese opera characters.

Multi-coloured paper-cut of the heads of two Chinese opera characters.