Wayang Museum, Puppet museum in West Jakarta, Indonesia
Wayang Museum is a puppet museum in West Jakarta, Indonesia, displaying thousands of figures made from wood, leather, and cloth in glass cases. The rooms extend across multiple floors and group the objects by regional origin and crafting technique.
The museum opened in 1975 inside a former Dutch colonial building that previously served as a church and courthouse. At that time, the collection aimed to protect puppetry, which was being pushed back by modern media.
The term wayang means shadow or performance and refers to a theater art that tells stories of heroes, gods, and wisdom. In the current collection, visitors recognize the importance of this tradition, which continues to be performed at weddings, religious festivals, and village gatherings.
The museum opens from Tuesday to Sunday between 9 AM and 4:30 PM, admission is inexpensive and requires no advance booking. Some labels are only in Indonesian, but the objects themselves tell much through their shapes and colors.
Besides Asian objects, the building displays figures from Europe, including rod puppets and marionettes, allowing a worldwide comparison. The collection also holds several rare shadow figures from past centuries, whose openwork details remain visible even in dim light.
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