In the first half of the twentieth century, a type of trick known as “statue tricks” was quite popular. Statue tricks consist of multiple balances on various body parts at the same time. There is no tossing involved, although in rare cases spinning may occur. Nevertheless, all of the objects being balanced or manipulated are in constant contact with the body. The origin of the name most likely comes from the static nature of the trick, with the juggler staying perfectly still in a precarious position, therefore resembling a statue. Another contributing factor to the name may be the fact that such an unmoving trick can be immortalized in statue form, a feat that is much more difficult for toss juggling tricks. Statue tricks generally took quite a bit of time to set up and often required an assistant or two. Audiences of the past appear to have been more patient than their modern counterparts, with tricks sometimes taking a minute or two to be assembled in place. Once the multiple balance was in place, it was simply held there for the audience to view and appreciate before being disassembled quickly.
While the origins of this type of trick go back quite far, as can be seen in the first picture below, it was Enrico Rastelli who really popularized them. The early versions of such tricks, such as those performed by various Burmese jugglers, were just balances of multiple balls on the body, but Rastelli and those that followed him took this to a very high degree of difficulty.
It should be noted that the merging of statue tricks with spinning and toss juggling created combination tricks, a subject on which I’ve written previously and which can be viewed here. Statue tricks are almost non-existent in the modern juggling world, although brief demonstrations of such balance tricks can occasionally be seen as a part of a larger toss juggling act. Perhaps this article will spur some current jugglers to resuscitate this lost form of juggling.
Below is a collection of pictures of statue tricks done by a variety of jugglers. Enjoy.
Terracotta statue from ancient Thebes, about 200 B.C.. Statue of a statue trick!
Carl Rappo 1828
Moung Toon, famous Burmese juggler from the late 1800s and early 1900s
Early Moung Toon photo
Burmese juggler Maung Law Paw performing in 1924
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Enrico Rastelli
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Massimiliano Truzzi
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Ernst Carre 1928
Ernst Carre 1928
Igor Rudenko
Paolo Bedini
Paolo Bendini
Paolo Bendini
Paolo Piletto and Paolo Bedini
Paolo Piletto
Ymmers
Serge Flash
Goldston
Bob Ripa
Chow Ding
Rudy Cardenas
Eddy Carello Sr.
Rudy Horn
Trixie
Trixie
Oliver Groszer
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Chimp Statue Jugglers
Bubu
Bubu
Bubu
Gubi
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David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).