Greek shadow puppets

These puppets were made by the Greek puppeteer and popular artist Abraam Antonakos in his Athens workshop. Used in performances in Greece during the 1960s, the puppets were brought to Australia by Antonakas in 1977 for a series of performances at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne. On his return to Greece, Antonakis left his puppets with Melbourne-based puppeteer Dimitri Katsoulis who continued to use them in shows until his return to Greece in 1991. At that time, Katsoulis donated the collection, which includes 32 shadow puppets, to Museum Victoria. The five puppets in this group represent traditional characters from the centuries-old Greek Shadow Puppet (Karaghiozis) Theatre. They are: Aspasia who is kind, obedient, ethical and compasionate; Eleni, who is obedient, well-mannered (thanks to being educated) and always in love; Hatziavatis who is a flatterer, timid, cunning and has his own self-interest at heart; Pasha Ismei, a very senior officer in the Turkish Army, who is cruel, harsh in dispensing life or death sentences, unjust in his decision-making and likes to live comfortably; and Selim; who is polite, strict in maintaining civil order, and attractive to women.