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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Mari Lwyd
Skull-on-pole type. Small horse's skull, attached to pole, draped with white cotton sheet and decorated with ribbons, rosettes and bells. The eyes are made from painted ping-pong balls.
Donated by the Cornish Welsh Society.
Mari Lwyd, about 1900 from Llangynwyd, Glamorgan. Over the Christmas period, a horse’s skull such as this would be carried from house to house in parts of south Wales. To gain entry they sang verses.
(Text from Oriel 1 exhibition at St Fagans National Museum of History)
Collection Area
Social & Cultural History
Item Number
F91.50
Historical Associations
Association Type: use
Date: 20th century
Creation/Production
Cresswell-Evans family
Acquisition
Donation
Measurements
Height
(cm): 130
Height
(cm): 180
Material
cotton (fabric)
bone
softwood
cellulose nitrate
silk (fabric)
nylon (synthetic fabric)
sheepskin
rubber (other)
brass
Location
In store
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