skekEkt the Ornamentalist Skeksis Puppet Head from <i>The Dark Crystal</i>
date: label: date made
content: ca 1982
name: label: Associated Name
content: Henson, Jim
label: maker
content: Henson, Jim
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This is the head of the skekEkt puppet from the 1982 film <i>The Dark Crystal</i>. skekEkt the Ornamentalist is part of the Skeksis race, who are reptilian bird-like creatures. They wear ornate robes but underneath they are decaying. The Skeksis rule through the power of a darkened crystal and live in a decrepit castle. skekEkt the Ornamentalist made clothes, especially for himself, of opulent fabrics that were covered in jewels.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>The Skeksis head is large and elongated with glaring glass eyes and a long pointed beak with jagged protruding teeth. The head is made of foam and latex that has been elaborately painted with tones of brown, black, white, and red, which gives the face a mottled coloring. There is a red feather flourish on top of the head along with jeweled dangling earrings. There are wires coming from the base of the head which are connected to controls that were used to move the head and facial features. During filming, the entire Skeksis puppet required two puppeteers to perform. One performer carried the weight of the body of the puppet on a harness on his or her hips, while the second performer was tucked inside the costume. In addition to the two main puppeteers, a team of assistant puppeteers was needed to truly bring the creature to life.</p>
label: Description
content: <p><i>The Dark Crystal</i> was a fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz and released in 1982. The film was made entirely with the use of puppets and features no human actors. In the film, two members of the Gelfling race, Jen and Kira, go on a journey to return a lost shard of the dark crystal in order to defeat the evil Skeksis and restore balance to the planet Thra before it is too late.<p>
topic: label: Subject
content: Movie
label: Subject
content: Entertainment, Film
label: Subject
content: Puppetry
label: Subject
content: Dark Crystal
label: Subject
content: Motion Pictures
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Jim Henson
label: See more items in
content: Movie Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the Family of Jim Henson: Lisa Henson, Cheryl Henson, Brian Henson, John Henson and Heather Henson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2013.0101.09
label: accession number
content: 2013.0101
label: catalog number
content: 2013.0101.09
objectType: label: Object Name
content: puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: latex (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (eyes material)
label: Physical Description
content: feathers (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wire (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 ft x 7 ft x 34 in; 2.7432 m x 2.1336 m x 86.36 cm