Shadow puppetry has been popular in China for more than 2,000 years. Invented to entertain Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, shadow plays were transported to Europe by travellers in the mid-18th century. There they were known as ombres chinoises (Chinese shadows) and were adapted to tell European stories. Puppeteer François Dominique Séraphin made them popular when he presented them in Paris in 1776, and by 1781 he was dazzling the court at the Palace of Versailles. Even Marie Antoinette admired his work.
Shadow play sets like this one used decorative paper puppets to cast short fables and fairytales. Later they were merged with other innovations, like magic lanterns, to project ghoulish phantasmagoria shows.
