A Preliminary Inventory of His Sicilian Marionettes Collection at the Harry Ransom
Center
Creator:
Marcus, Stanley, 1905-2002
Title:
Stanley Marcus Sicilian Marionettes
Collection
Dates:
circa 1850-circa 1960
Extent:
60 marionettes, 1 rolled item
Abstract:
The Stanley Marcus Sicilian Marionettes,
circa 1850-circa 1960, consists of sixty marionettes and a backdrop curtain. The marionettes
form a troupe of characters from the Orlando Furioso story cycle.
Call Number:
Performing Arts Collection PA-00056
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. An advance appointment is required to view the puppets in the Reading
Room.
The entrepreneur Stanley Marcus (1905-2002) was president of the Neiman Marcus retail
department store chain from 1950 to 1975. He was also an avid art collector and patron
of
the arts in the Dallas area. The Stanley Marcus Sicilian Marionettes, circa 1850-circa
1960,
consists of sixty marionettes and a backdrop curtain. The marionettes, which were
purchased
by Marcus in 1960, form a troupe of characters from the Orlando
Furioso story cycle. They are arranged into three groups of characters, largest
group to smallest: Christian, Non-Christian, and Animal. Among the characters represented
are Charlemagne, Orlando, various Frankish knights, Moors, princesses and other female
characters, horses, demons, dogs, and mythical creatures. Completing the collection
is a
mid-nineteenth century backdrop curtain for a Sicilian marionette theater, purchased
separately.
The marionette tradition in Sicily began in the 1850s when Sicilian wood carvers were
inspired by Italian versions of Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem Orlando
Furioso, a legend that emerged (with vast embellishment) from the eighth century
life of Roland, one of Charlemagne’s knights. These plays emphasized chivalry and
swashbuckling adventure, and dramatized the conflict between Christianity and Islam.
In the
marionette theaters of Sicily, the stories became standardized and were a highly popular
entertainment until displaced by television, film, and other mass media. In the latter
part
of the twentieth century, the tradition of these marionettes was revived with performances
in Sicily, and even television was used as a means of continuing this popular tradition.
The marionettes are operated with a wooden-handled metal rod extending from the crown
of
the head on human figures, and from the center of the back on animal figures, a technique
that dates to the Roman Empire. A second rod moves the primary arm (the sword hand
for
warriors), and a string moves the secondary arm. The jointed legs move freely, and
are
controlled by manipulating the body through the main rod. The size of the marionette
denotes
rank: primary characters stand four to five feet in height, secondary characters,
about
three feet. The armor on warriors can weigh up to forty pounds. Each marionette is
stored
hanging vertically from its rod.
Related Material
Related material is also present in the Ransom Center’s Puppetry Collection, Joel
Sherzer
Collection, and University of Texas Extension Library Collection.
Sources:
Wells, Maria Xenia Zevelechi. "The Stanley Marcus Sicilian
Marionettes and Related Books." The Library Chronicle of the University
of Texas at Austin 23, nos. 2/3 (1993), 35-42.
Wells, Maria Xenia Zevelechi. "Paladins of Sicily: The Pupi of
Stanley Marcus’ Collection." FMR 15, no. 77 (1995), 61-80.
