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Hun Wang Na (The Crown Prince’s puppets)

Keywords : Bangkok National Museum , Wangna, King Rama V, Ramayana, Hun Lek, Hun Wang Na (The Crown Prince’s puppets), Shivamokpimarn royal throne

Artwork alternative nameHun Lek
Site common nameBangkok National Museum
Site alternative nameWang Na
Type of artworkSculpture
Sub districtPhra Borom Maha Ratchawang
DistrictKhet Phra Nakhon
ProvinceBangkok
RegionCentral
CountryThailand
Geographic Coordinates
Decimal degree
Lat : 13.757491
Long : 100.49217
Geographic Coordinates
UTM
Zone : 47 P
Hemisphere : N
E : 661323.86
N : 1521406.96
Place of artworkShivamokpimarn royal throne

ArtistBavornvichaicharn, the Crown Prince in the reign of King Rama V.
History of production

Created by the order of Bavornvichaicharn, the Crown Prince in the reign of King Rama V.

Production process

Puppets controlling sticks were made of soft texture wood, attached with strings, clothes and their heads are made of fabric and paper Marché.

SizeApproximately 50 cm. (average height)
Art

The Puppets’ bodies were made of light weight soft texture wood. They were drilled to thread the strings for controlling. The head was also made out of similar wood and attached with strings, and the face is decorated with lacquer, paper Marché and painting.

Male puppets usually wear a theatrical crown and tiara as coiffeur, while the costume and jewelry are similar to those of Khon, and likewise female puppets.

The male puppets usually wear loose, straight legged, calf length trousers with deep embroidered hems under a draped brocade his wrappers that is padded at the sides, horizontally pleated in back and vertically pleated in front. The female puppets usually wear long, embroidered, upper-body garment that combines cape and shoulder cloth, over a simple base consisting of a snug bodice and wrap skirt. Furthermore, high social ranked female puppets such as princess or queen wear a theatrical crown. Yaksa queen or princess puppets wear a pointed tiara; whilst servant puppets wear a flame tiara.
Key academic information

Two sets of puppets were created by the order of Bavornvichaicharn, the Crown Prince in the reign of King Rama V for performing Ramayana. The first set is puppets well adorned and face-painted exactly like Khon or the Masked Performance. The other is Chinese puppets for performing ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, a chinese novel. The latter set was decorated according to Chinese Opera performers. All of the puppets are 1 m. smaller than the Royal Puppets or Hun Yai, which were used in royal ceremonies since Ayutthaya period, therefore, the Crown Prince’s Puppets are also called Small Puppets or Hun Lek.

Each of Hun Lek has a wooden stick connecting with the lower part of the puppet which the controllers use to carry the puppet. Striings are thridden through the puppet’s hands, legs and arms to make it move. Some puppets are thridden through more than 10 points for controlling movements. Hun Lek includes leading male and female puppets, Yakṣa puppets, and monkey puppets wearing the same costumes and headgears as Khon.

PeriodHistorical Period
Art periodRattanakosin
Age25th Buddhist century
Religion and beliefTraditions in the Thai Royal Court
Legend

Ramayana and the Chinese novel entitled ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’

Related artwork

Royal Puppets, Hun Lakhon Lek

Type of LicenseAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
RightsPrincess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Date of record creation2016-08-15
Record creatorPatsaweesiri Premkulanan
Bibliography

ศิริรัตน์ ทวีทรัพย์. หุ่นวังหน้า. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2551.

วันทนีย์ ม่วงบุญ. ลักษณะประติมานวิทยาของหุ่นเรื่องรามเกียรติ์ ของกรมพระราชวังบวรวิไชยชาญ. กรุงเทพฯ : สถาบันนาฏดุริยางคศิลป์ กรมศิลปากร, 2539