Rod puppet representing Kuraisin

Title: Rod puppet representing Kuraisin
Creator: Unidentified artist
Subject: Rod puppet
Culture: Javanese
Medium: Wood; cloth; horn; metal
Format: 24 13/16 x 4 1/8 x 3 1/4 inches; 63 x 10.5 x 8.3 cm
Description: Kuraisin is one of the characters in Wayang Golek Menak, a Javanese adaptation of the Amir Hamzah stories that had circulated widely in the Islamic world from Persia. Amir Hamzah stories chronicle the many adventures of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, Amir Hamzah, travels the world and fights the enemy of Islam. In the Javanese version of Hamzanama (Epic of Hamza), the structure of stories in wayang golek Menak shares similarities with the Panji Romance. In the Menak stories, Dewi Kuraisin is the daughter of Amir Hamzah, or Amir Ambyah as he is called in the Javanese version, with Dewi Ismayati. Dewi Ismayati is the princess of Ngajrak and the daughter of the king of djins (spirits) named Taminasar who enlists the help of Amir Ambyah to defeat the giant armies.
Provenance: Gift of Claire Holt and Benedict R.O'G. Anderson
Rights: Collection of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Coll. no. 98.145.006