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Four Political Puppets from Katherina Bekleshova, c1940's

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Political Memorabilia Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD
Four Political Puppets from Katherina Bekleshova, c1940's
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Four choice intricate hand puppets made by well-known puppet "Maestro" Katherina Bekleshova of Russia, probably during the early 1940's.

These dolls, and Ms. Bekleshova are the subject of a book in Russia from 2009. Ms. Bekleshova began her work as a puppeteer in 1938. Originally she made figures with wax heads, and along the way decided to make heads with moving parts, which created animated characters. Each puppet is completely hand made. Katherina called these her "little Miracles", as they came to life upon the hand. Ms Bekleshova had a television show featuring her puppets in which these four puppets were used. Puppets were a very popular form of theater in Russia in the first half of the 20th century, as well as through history. They were often used to tell whimsical political stories and make fun of political characters in a non-harmful way. This was the only form of political satire that was allowable. These puppets were passed on to the Ben-Tchavtchavadze family of Ontario two generations ago. One is a figure of Stalin. Another is of a wealthy Russian lady with glasses, the third and fourth are Russian peasants. The puppets have an overall length of about 2 feet each, for an elevated stage presence of about a foot. The puppets are generally in excellent condition.



Date: Location: zRussia HWAC# 56866