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The almost supernatural skill of juggling—‘the dextrous manipulation of objects’—was probably recognized before the ancient Egyptians, but around 2000 BC they were the earliest to depict (women) jugglers, in the Beni-Hassan tombs. Juggling figures later appeared on Greek pottery and Roman wall reliefs. Tagastus Ursus (AD 53–117) claimed to have been the first to juggle with glass balls. The fifth-century Irish hero Cuchulain juggled nine apples and, more spectacularly, Tulchinne, the jester at the court of King Conaire, is described as juggling nine swords, silver shields, and balls of gold. The juggling of large numbers of objects is not unusual; the world record in 2001 was twelve rings, eleven balls, and eight clubs.
The association of juggling with magic and sleight of hand is of long standing. The Roman term praestigiator referred to the trickster-magician as well as the juggler, and in the West suspicion has always been mixed with admiration. For the ancient Chinese, on the other hand, juggling was allied with the skills of hunting and fighting. The ‘Hundred Entertainments’ of the Han Dynasty combined the exhibition of jugglers with acrobats, animal tamers, equestrians, and other circus trades. In the nineteenth-century popular mind, juggling was located in the East, particularly in India and Japan, and overlaid with the exoticism of fire-walking and sword-swallowing; to attract an audience the German juggler Karl Rappo was forced to wear a turban and appear as an Indian. The music hall claimed many jugglers from the circus. Paul Cinquevalli juggled billiard balls and caught a cannon ball on his neck. Kara, who performed in evening dress, juggled a hat, a cigar, gloves, a newspaper, matches, and a coffee cup. It was not until the first part of the twentieth century that the specialized talents of jugglers such as Enrico Rastelli and Bobby May were appreciated. Whilst balancing on a board, itself on a rolling cylinder, Rastelli juggled seven balls, twirled three rings on one leg, and spun balls on a mouthpiece.
Ann Featherstone
From The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance
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