Puppetry (Kheimeh-shab-bazi)

Definition

Traditional Iranian string-puppet theatre, and the craft of making its carved and costumed puppets, including the well-known character Mobarak.

History

Kheimeh-shab-bazi ('night-tent play') was performed by travelling troupes, with a narrator and musicians. It has been kept alive in recent decades by theatre groups and festivals in Tehran and elsewhere.

Dates and attributions here summarise common positions in the literature and are under editorial review; they are not definitive.

Technique

Puppet heads are carved or modelled, painted and fixed to a jointed body; costumes are sewn by hand; strings are attached to a wooden control. Makers usually also perform.

Collecting and identification

Puppets are rarely sold. Decorative souvenir puppets are not the same as working theatre puppets; ask whether the piece was used or made by a performing troupe.

This guidance is educational only and is not an authentication or valuation service.

Photographs

No photograph is shown yet: we have not found a clean, openly licensed image without watermarks. We would rather show none than a questionable one.

گالری

تصاویر نمونه‌هایی معرف هستند، نه سندی برای رکوردهای نمونهٔ بازارچه. منبع و وضعیت مجوز آن‌ها در بخش اعتبارهای عکاسی آمده است.

بازارچه

در حال حاضر هیچ شیئی از این صنعت فهرست نشده است.

دانش مرتبط

منابع و مآخذ

• Book: Wulff, H. E. The Traditional Crafts of Persia. MIT Press, 1966.
• Institution: Encyclopaedia Iranica, relevant entries (online edition, accessed 2026-09-24).

در جایی که خاستگاه، تاریخ یا نمادشناسی محل مناقشه است، این مدخل روایت‌های رقیب را بیان می‌کند نه اینکه میان آن‌ها یکی را برگزیند. تحلیل سردبیری به‌عنوان واقعیتِ مستند ارائه نمی‌شود.