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Christmas in doll land

  • Thema

The Christmas season is upon us once again. High time to delve into the museum collection and see what traces of this annual celebration can be found.

In addition to classic scenes depicting the birth of Christ, several Santa Claus dolls catch the eye. They belong to the collection of the Tientelientje Puppet Theatre, which was donated to the Ypres museums in 2005.

Hand puppet of a Father Christmas, 1990-2000 (OM 000177)
Pinkie doll (OM 000244)

Tientelientje

Puppet theatre Tientelientje was founded on 26 March 1969 by Bart Dejaegher and Monique Mulier. In the 1970s, they performed throughout Flanders. Bart Dejaegher's puppets could also be admired on television – the then BRT. The most famous puppet is undoubtedly Pinkie the penguin. He is the star of the theatre and appears in all the shows as a good-natured problem solver. On television, he is best known for the series “Pim and Pinkie”.

The 5 Santas

It should come as no surprise that a Santa Claus is included in a puppet theatre's collection. But why are multiple Santa Clauses needed? Poppentheater Tientelientje was active from 1969 to 2005. During those 36 years, the process of making puppets underwent a significant evolution. The Santa Claus puppets illustrate this evolution.

After conducting a few experiments of his own with materials such as papier-mâché, Bart Dejaegher had his dolls made by Jan Vanhaute. He works with heads made of wood pulp. This material is easy to work with, allowing for a high level of detail in the faces. Pinkie, as well as the oldest Santa Claus, were produced in this way.

Hand puppet of a Father Christmas, circa 1970 (OM 000117)
Clown hand puppet with movable hat (OM 000030)

Technische innovaties

Later, Bart and Jan will become acquainted with Czech puppets. In the Czech Republic and throughout Eastern Europe, there is a much greater puppet tradition than in the Netherlands. The puppets there are much more sophisticated. After their visit in the 1970s, Bart and Jan began experimenting. This led to puppets with moving parts such as mouths and eyes.

Initially, they mainly brought new ideas back to Belgium. Due to the Cold War, trade was almost impossible. After the fall of the Eastern Bloc, it also became easier to purchase puppets in the Czech Republic. The collection includes eighteen stick and finger puppets, all made in the Czech Republic. These include three Father Christmases. And so it is that there are five different Father Christmases in one puppet collection.

Finger puppet of a Father Christmas (OM 000058.03)
Finger puppet of a Father Christmas (OM 000058.04)
Finger puppet of a Father Christmas (OM 000058.05)