Sheet 13 of figures for Chinese shadow puppets
Medium
Woodcut (?wood engraving matrix)
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 3/8 × 17 1/8 in. (31.5 × 43.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Max G. Wildnauer Fund, 1978
Accession Number
1978.643.3(12)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intriguing woodcut, titled *Sheet 13 of figures for Chinese shadow puppets*, was created in 1859 by Spanish artists Juan Llorens and José Taulo. Measuring 12 3/8 × 17 1/8 inches, it served as a matrix—likely a preparatory wood engraving block—for printing designs of traditional Chinese shadow puppet figures. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it captures the mid-19th-century European fascination with Asian performing arts, blending technical precision with cultural curiosity. Chinese shadow puppetry, a vibrant folk tradition dating back centuries, ...