The Institute of Ethnology today opened an exhibition of dolls, puppets and figurines entitled “Go! Figures: The Culture and Charisma of Statues, Puppets, and Dolls”. The display will run from October 17, 2012 to July 31, 2013, every Wednesday and Saturday. The display compares different types of Chinese and Taiwanese figurines across history, exploring their diversity of style and function. Through the exhibition the Institute hopes to show how anthropology makes connections between the contemporary and the ancient, the everyday and the extraordinary.

Puppets and dolls have played a prominent role throughout the history of the ethnic Chinese peoples and have been made for many purposes. Dolls have been made to accompany dead rulers in the afterlife, as toys for children, and also for ornamental or architectural reasons. Figurines have also played important roles in religion and art. In addition to their traditional functions, figurines and images of humans are also seen daily in contemporary Taiwan in such roles as logo characters for enterprises and politicians, and as figurines of well-known manga and anime characters (gongzai公仔) that dangle from cell-phones, key chains, or book bags.

Through comparing figurines from different eras, a great deal can be learnt about how the ideals of beauty and the relationship between the body and spirit have changed over time. Figurines and photographs of artifacts spanning over 3000 years of ethnic Chinese cultures have been collected for the exhibition. These include photos of the Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty; a 17th century Dutch representation of Guan Gong (關公); puppet stars from the Pili International Multimedia Company’s television series (霹靂布袋戲); cute plastic toys of deities sold in convenience stores; as well as designer toys from Hong Kong and Taiwan. By observing the diversity of styles, visitors can learn how society defines the image of a “human”, and how a hero or celebrity of the time is recognized.

Huge boards with photos illustrate how certain collectible toys were produced - by making of a prototype, and a plastic mold with an injection machine - and the details of how to polish and color the models are explained. 

The exhibition has been jointly organized by the Institute of Ethnology and the Museum of the Institute of Ethnology, and co-organized by Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum, the National Museum of History and National Taiwan Museum. The exhibition has been curated by Dr. Teri J. Silvio, Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Ethnology. Dr. Silvio received her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Chicago. Her research areas include Taiwanese opera, hand puppet drama, fashion, culture and the mass media, and gender studies. She is a big fan of figurines and has personally collected a huge number of figures. Thanks to her generosity, visitors can view several precious figures that have long been out of production.

Appendix : “Go! Figures: the culture and charisma of status, puppets and dolls” exhibition

Title: “Go! Figures: The Culture and Charisma of Statues, Puppets, and Dolls”

Dates: October 17, 2011 – July 31, 2013

Times: 9:30 ~16:30, every Wednesday and Saturday (national holidays and consecutive holidays not included)

Place: Museum Exhibition Room 2, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Road, Nangang, Taipei 115

Organizers: Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica
Museum of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica

Co-organizers: Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum
National Museum of History
National Taiwan Museum

Curator: Teri J. Silvio, Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica