Large Javanese shadow puppet used for the practice of wayang kulit (shadow theater), the puppet is made of animal hide and depicts a male figure, approximately 2 feet tall (counting central control stick), and has two long articulated arms. There are three sticks attached to the puppet which can be used to manipulate it, the center stick is curved to match the form of the body and is attached at four points long the figure using tan thread with the exception of the bottommost connection which appears to have been redone at a later date using a different and more waxy material, this stick has a small ornamentation just below the foot and comes to a slight point at the end, the two used to manipulate the arms are smaller and simpler than the central stick and attached to the wrists with one wrist (the one on the side the figure is facing) using a small piece of tan string and the other using what appears to be the same material as the lowest attachment on the body but on the wrist it has been covered in a gold paint which does not match the level of wear present on the rest of the figure. The figure itself has exaggerated facial and features (long pointed nose, high flat forehead, thin torso, and long arms), gold-painted skin with a black-painted face, and ornate clothing and ornamentation (including a crown, jewelry around the ankles, wrists, and upper arms, and elegant curled skirt with triangular ornamental cord) which have been painted blue, white, red, and gold, however much of this pigment appears to have worn away and/or melded together. There are several small perforations covering the figure, these serve the double purpose of being ornamental and allowing light to shine through the figure to better depict the character.
This figure most likely depicts the character of Rama, a reincarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god of creation, who is venerated as an important deity for many Hindus, he is also the principal character in the Hindu epic the Ramayana which is a popular text to take stories from in wayang traditions. While there is a chance that this may not be Rama, wayang characters generally have a very specific set of characteristics that denote general personality traits and even more specific and subtle traits that distinguish between particular characters and this particular puppet matches up with many of the key characteristics present in other wayang depictions of Rama. The clothing, jewelry, colors, and shapes used all line up with those found on other depictions of Rama, but most importantly the crown (which consists of a high dome with several small overlapping points coming off of the side facing the front of his face and three large, petal-like pieces coming off down the figures back) is very similar to other depictions of the character, crowns and other head adornments are often the most consistent and recognizable way to differentiate between similar characters so this consistency is a good sign that this figure is indeed Rama.