Burmese yok-thei marionette puppet of Ravana, Collectible

This is a Burmese yok-thei marionette puppet of Ravana the principal antagonist in the epic tale the Ramayana - the foe of the hero Rama.  His face grimaces with bulging eyes and fangs. Your puppet is made of carved and painted wood and cloth.  His armor is richly decorated with sequins, metallic gold thread, pearl-like brass applied buttons. His tall gold crown shows heads looking in the four cardinal directions surmounted by a Buddha-like head.  He is shown with four arms holding two maces and a dagger.  The strings are attached.  Probably early Twentieth Century. His character is inspired by the Indian epic the Ramayana - the Burmese version of which is known as "Yama Zatdaw" and is based on Ravana the ruler of the demons and the opponent of the hero Rama (Yama). In Burma this character is known as Yawana. As background "Burmese puppet makers were responsible for the making of stringed marionettes (yok-thei) for theatrical performances known as yok-thei-pwe. Such performances were very popular in Burma in the 19th and early 20th centuries an were intended for adults. The performances drew upon the Jataka stories, Burmese history, fables and legends (Fraser-Lu 1994)".