Custom Chinese Shadow Puppet from Your Artwork (Cowhide Leather)

Chinese shadow puppetry was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011.

Your design becomes a cowhide leather shadow puppet, finely carved and hand-coloured by a Shaanxi shadow-puppet workshop and jointed in the classic style. It stands about 30 cm tall, and the arms and legs move.

What to send: a clear character illustration, a cartoon avatar of a person, or a photo of your pet or another animal. These work best. Photos of real people's faces are hard to reproduce faithfully in shadow-puppet style, so we can't promise a photo-realistic likeness.

How it works:
1. Place your order.
2. After ordering, send your image to us on WhatsApp (+86 151 5468 8898) or by email ([email protected]), with your order number. Any wishes can go in the order notes.
3. The workshop redraws your image as a shadow-puppet design and we send it to you to approve.
4. After you approve, the puppet is made. We send you a photo of the finished piece before it ships.

The photos show examples of the workshop's work (animal puppets and lanterns, and the parts of a traditional figure). Your puppet is made from your own design.

Lead time: ships within about 7 days after you approve the design, then about 2–3 weeks international shipping. For Chinese New Year (6 February 2027) or a gift date, order early.

Price includes estimated postage to the US/EU. Made to order in China and sent as a small international packet.