I first encountered these Indonesian rod puppets at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. There was a wall dedicated to these creatures, looking eery yet regal with their elongated bodies, dressed in elaborate outfits and either grotesque or beautiful masks. I was mesmerized by the intricacy of the puppets, from the colorful embroidery on their costume to the detailed facial expressions, they already look like they hold many stories, before they get on stage.
Ever since that first visit, I’ve been coveting one of these dolls, and went in search of them when I finally made it to Indonesia. Yet in all of the tourist traps I visited in Bali, I wasn’t able to find them. Then one evening as we headed out to dinner, I found them. I tried to keep calm and asked for the price as nonchalantly as I could manage, and could barely contain my excitement when I heard it was $60. Ok, so that could have gotten me 6 massages in Ubud at the time, but I would have been willing to pay much more for these gorgeous pieces of art. I think I even forgot to bargain.
It was not easy transporting the two dolls back home, since I was in the middle of my world tour, but somehow they made it home intact. Since I didn’t have an apartment at the time, I left them with my mom, who exclaimed at their grotesqueness and hid them in the attic because they gave her nightmares 😛
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