Shadow puppet of a demon (Sbek Poa)

Object Details

• Provenance

  From at least 1983-1989

  Joyce and Kenneth X. Robbins, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1989

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Joyce and Kenneth X. Robbins [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Known to have been in the collection of Kenneth X. Robbins in 1983. See Kenneth X. Robbins, “Indo-Asian Shadow Figures” in “Arts of Asia,” vol. 13, no. 5 (September-October 1983), p. 73 (illustrated). Object is described as “Larger nang talung demon; Thailand [sic Cambodia] Collection: Kenneth X. Robbins.” See also offer letter from Kenneth X. Robbins to Milo Beach on “Kenneth X. Robbins, M. D., LTD.” letterhead, dated December 4, 1989, copy in object file.

  Dr. Kenneth X. Robbins, psychiatrist, M.D., and Joyce Robbins of Potomac, Maryland are collectors of South Asian art and objects relating to the history of Africans in the greater Indian Ocean world and the Jewish diaspora in India and beyond. They have given materials from their vast collection to various institutions including the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. In 2022, they have promised their library collection to the University of Pennsylvania.

  [2] See Deed of Gift to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, dated December 21, 1989, original in object file.

  Research Completed October 26, 2022

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dr. Kenneth X. Robbins

• Origin

  Cambodia

• Credit Line

  Gift of Joyce and Kenneth X. Robbins

• Type

  Toy and Entertainment

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1800s, 1900s

• Name

  Robbins, Kenneth X.

• Place

  Cambodia

• Topic

  Art, Amusements, Demon, Puppets, Southeast Asian Art

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Toys (recreational artifacts)