Called Sbek Poa or Sbek Por (Sbek: leather; Poa/Por: color), Cambodian shadow puppets are rare and their original performance contexts are not well known. Shadow puppet performance traditions are much more prominent in Indonesia, where they have been used in contexts ranging from village to court settings.
This brightly colored character wields a sword.
Provenance:
From at least 1983-1989
Joyce and Kenneth X. Robbins, method of acquisition unknown [1]
From 1989
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Joyce and Kenneth X. Robbins [2]
Notes:
[1] Known to have been in the collection of Kenneth X. Robbins in 1983. See Kenneth X. Robbins, “Indo-Asian Shadow Figures” in “Arts of Asia,” vol. 13, no. 5 (September-October 1983), p. 73 (illustrated). Object is described as “Larger nang talung demon; Thailand [sic Cambodia] Collection: Kenneth X. Robbins.” See also offer letter from Kenneth X. Robbins to Milo Beach on “Kenneth X. Robbins, M. D., LTD.” letterhead, dated December 4, 1989, copy in object file.
Dr. Kenneth X. Robbins, psychiatrist, M.D., and Joyce Robbins of Potomac, Maryland are collectors of South Asian art and objects related to the history of Africans in the greater Indian Ocean world and the Jewish diaspora in India and beyond. Dr. Robbins has also authored several books, articles, and lectures. Works from their collection may also be found at The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, DC and the Brooklyn Museum, NY.
[2] See Deed of Gift to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, dated December 21, 1989, original in object file.
