Horse Skeleton Marionette used in Minstrel Show
date: label: Date made
content: 1850
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This horse skeleton, one of the earliest puppets in the Museum's collection, is part of an unusual marionette minstrel show said to have been staged on a showboat traveling up and down the Mississippi River between 1850-1875. A common form of entertainment, the popular minstrel show is considered to be the first uniquely American form of entertainment and featured white people parodying African Americans. During the second half of the nineteenth century, these floating stages provided entertainment to many working class Americans in both urban and rural areas. The show usually included music, songs, dance, comic repartees and a closing skit.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This horse skeleton is part of a larger group off marionettes that included Mr. Tambo, Mr. Bones, a human skeleton, a policeman, and two smaller hand and rod puppets, including a man and a woman. They are all made of wood, leather, and cloth. Mr. Tambo, a traditional African American marionette, wears a top hat, and is named for his musical instrument. The male and female figures are dressed in simple plain cotton clothing, respectively, a suit with a blue jacket and hat, and a print dress with a lace apron. The policeman, who is white, has wooden hands and feet and his body is stuffed with straw. He has glass eyes, a leather belt, a cotton uniform, and red cotton yarn.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: label: general subject association
content: Minstrels
label: general subject association
content: Puppetry
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Hazelle H. and J. Woodson Rollins
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.1164.01
label: accession number
content: 1979.1164
label: catalog number
content: 1979.1164.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: string (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (eyes material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 36 in; 91.44 cm