AN exhibition in the Mitchell Library which celebrates puppets in all their forms closes today.
The exhibits were collected by world leading puppet master John Blundall over the course of half a century.
Mr Blundall, who was born in Birmingham, moved to the West End and in the early 1990s set up a collection in the Mitchell which he called The World Through Wooden Eyes.
Theatre using puppets and masks are one of the oldest forms of creative expression with evidence they were used in China and India 2500 years ago.
The collection represented most cultures of the world and contained a range of specialist tools for the creation of puppets, masks, scenery and decorative woodwork.
As well as antique and modern puppets and masks it also featured original research, material about Punch and Judy dating to the 19th century and books about the history and development of all aspects of puppet theatre.
It has been displayed in numerous art galleries, theatres, museums and other venues across the UK.
Mr Blundall, 77, was one of the world's top puppet masters as well as a director, designer and craftsman who created more than 50 major puppet production and collaborted with national theatre, opera and ballet companies.
His most famous character was chauffeur Parker who featured in the hugely popular Thunderbirds children's series.
Eduard Bersudsky and Tatyana Jakovskaya of the Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre in the Trongate worked with Mr Blundall.
They said when he died in 2014: “John was an amazingly knowledgeable person with deep understanding of different cultures and astonishing range of skills.
“At the same time he remained that inquisitive kid who just got tired and annoyed with boring adults around."
It is understood that the new owner of the exhibits has decided not to keep them all and city auctioneer Lyon and Turnbull is organising a sale in the coming weeks.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here