Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Sheng (young male), with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted red, eyebrows are painted black and have sharp spikes in the middle. Back of head and area around ears painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a dark blue cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Long, dark brown-black strands of hair attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a light green robe, with extended gauze-like 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 trimmed with a wavy pink ribbon. Robe is covered in large floral motifs, done in sequins. Flowers are done in dark pink and silver, the vines and leaves are done in shades of blue. Plain red undergarment beneath the robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out and re-attached. Headdress (part b) is rectangular folded cardboard, covered in green fabric and shaped by a metal frame, with a rounded top piece. The sides of the top piece flare out from the rectangular cap. Edges of top piece trimmed with animal hair(?). All interior edges of headdress, the rounded top and folded rectangle, are bordered with yellow wavy ribbons. Bottom edge of folded rectangle bordered by a dark blue band. Entire surface of headdress covered with curvilinear and floral motifs, done in sequins and beads. Sequins are red and silver, and beads are silver, dark blue and red. Two strips of cloth hang from the back, bottom edge, of the headdress. Strips are blue and decorated with orange geometric motifs and green lizards. Tips of strips made from cardboard, covered in green fabric. Plain ties on back of headdress, for securing it to the puppet’s head.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xu Wen (bearded male), with separate beard. Head, hands and torso of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. The mouth is painted red with white teeth. Eyes are black-rimmed, eyebrows are painted white with spikes in the middle. The back of the head and area around the 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 yellow 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 linear motifs across robe, done in silver, dark pink and dark green sequins. Cuffs trimmed with a wavy blue ribbon. Dragon design on centre front and centre back of robe, done in dark green and silver sequins with white beaded eyes. Character has a matching collar, that secures at the front, with white animal hair(?) along bottom edge. Collar trimmed with wavy blue and dark green ribbons. Character has an off-white undergarment beneath robe. Characters printed in red across interior of undergarment. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his torso, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out. Beard (part b) consists of long black 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), with a headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted beige. Character has a small nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted dark red, eyebrows are painted black. Eyes are black-rimmed and have pink eye shadow. She has thick black hair in a ponytail and a black headband tied around her forehead. Band is covered in large pink and silver sequins. The character is wearing a blue robe, with extended gauze-like sleeves that drape down. The robe has a front opening, secured with ties and metal buttons, and two small side slits. Neckline, cuffs and bottom edge of robe are bordered with a wavy pink ribbon. Robe has floral and geometric motifs throughout, done in light green, silver and dark pink-purple sequins. Dark brown undergarment beneath robe, covered in light brown and orange flowers. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to her head, and two more are attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Headdress (part b) is designed to look like a peacock. It consists of a metal frame filled in with cardboard, covered in black and light green fabric. A peacock head, made of metal and covered in thick green string, protrudes from the top centre of the headdress. Entire surface of headdress is covered in sequins, beads and rhinestones. Sequins are red and clear, beads are silver and clear, rhinestones are blue, red and green. Back of headdress is painted silver. There are two ties on either end of the headdress.

Carved wooden figure of a kneeling man. His entire body is long and thin. He is straight backed and his head is sticking straight out from his shoulders. He has an angular face, with bulging eyes, a prominent brow and short, wide nose. His cheeks are hollow, has a wide, open mouth and his chin is jutting out. Large oval-shaped ears on either side of head, with wide, tapering holes in their centres. Hair fibres are nailed to the top of his head, curving backwards. The hair is braided along his forehead. He has a woven plant fibre skirt around his waist, with fringe along the bottom edge. The man’s knees are spread widely apart, with his upper body resting on his heels. His left hand is resting on his knee and his right arm is bent in front of him, with his hand under his chin.

Carved wooden figure of a female giving birth. The woman’s entire body is thin and long. She is leaning backwards and her head is sticking straight out from her shoulders. She has an angular face, with bulging eyes, a prominent brow and short, wide nose. Her cheeks are hollow, mouth is wide open and her chin is jutting out. Wide, oval-shaped ears on either side of her head, with large holes in their centres. Hair fibres are nailed to the top of head, sticking up and curving backward slightly. The hair around her forehead is braided. The woman is kneeling, with her knees spread out and her hands hovering over them. The baby is protruding from beneath her woven plant fibre skirt, wrapped high around her waist. Child has an oval-shaped mouth and eyes, and a long, wide nose.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xu Wen (bearded male), with separate beard. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted beige. Character has a sharp nose, moveable eyes and large ears. Mouth is dark red, eyebrows are painted black with sharp spikes in the middle. Eyes have a thick black lining, cheeks are rosy. Back of head and area around ears painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a plaid cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Short strands of dark brown-black hair attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a red robe, with extended gauze-like sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties and metal buttons, and a small right side slit. The sides of the robe have pink panels. Cuffs bordered with a wavy blue ribbon. Curvilinear and linear motifs across robe, done in silver and dark green sequins. Dragon(?) design, done in dark green, silver and gold sequins, on centre front and back of robe. Dragon is hovering over a cloud(?), done in dark green sequins. Character has a matching collar, that secures at the front, with white animal hair(?) along bottom edge. Collar trimmed with wavy blue and yellow ribbons. There are curvilinear and linear motifs across it done in dark green and silver sequins. 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. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out and re-attached. Beard (part b) consists of long black 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 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.

Fly whisk, consisting of a tooth handle and long strands of white horse hair. Handle has an angled end, and two rings of silver-coloured metal along its length. Top of handle flares out into a semi-circle, with a long wooden rod protruding from the top. Metal wire wrapped around base of rod, with a looped tie, for hanging purposes. Rod is covered in grey and dark brown fibre, woven into design of alternating diagonal lines. Horse hair extends from the sides, front and top of the rod. Hair curves downward naturally, thinning out towards end of whisk.

Four spun cotton fibre bundles (parts a-d); cocoon-shaped (the form they were removed from the spindle shaft in). The bundles range in colour from brownish-yellow to yellowish-white. The largest (part a) is white along the top and darkens to yellow-brown at the bottom. Pointed protrusions on either end. Second largest (part b) is entirely brown-yellow with a pointed top. Third largest (part c) has a white piece of unspun cotton attached to its right side, near the top, and a pointed bottom. Smallest (part d) appears to have tufts of hair throughout.

Fragment of a strap. Wider part of strap is rectangular-shaped, light brown and slim. Dark brown diamond pattern throughout rectangle. Right end of strap is missing. Left end is a light brown, thick braid with four multi-strand elements. Large tuft of brown hair(?) woven into braid, where it meets the rectangular portion. Hair(?) is most visible on the back side of the strap.