This is a leather puppet of a clown. Such puppets are used for shadow plays, which are staged on festive occasions. While most of the themes are religious, drawn from epic myths, historical tales and sometimes fables, satire on contemporary matters was the underlying theme of many performances. Clowns are introduced to provide humour and diversion from the main theme.This form of shadow puppetry is known as Tholubomalatta in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The puppets of Andhra Pradesh are unique in that they are created in a combination of profile and frontal views, as seen in this clown, where the legs and head point to the side in a profile view while the rest of the body is presented in a frontal view.In the early days of these shadow puppets, they were strongly influenced by contemporary westernisation. Today, western cinema and popular culture have an effect on them, as shown in this puppet wearing riding boots. These puppets record the changing times of history.
