waxworks

[ waks-wurks ]

/ ˈwæksˌwɜrks /

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noun, plural wax·works.(usually used with a singular verb)

an exhibition of or a museum for displaying wax figures, ornaments, etc.

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Origin of waxworks

First recorded in 1690–1700; wax¹ + work + -s³

These waxworks used to be publicly exhibited, after which the cap was passed around for contributions.
Milton's England|Lucia Ames Mead
Can't cry creaky waxworks any more than you can stinking fish.
Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 107, October 27th, 1894|Various
Yer never see rich waxworks as 'is butler and 'is four conscientious khaki footmen.
The Foundations (Fourth Series Plays)|John Galsworthy
In another day most of them would have been candidates for a waxworks or the formaldehyde of a specimen bottle.
Accidental Flight|Floyd L. Wallace

The effigy is of painted wood and is amazingly lifelike, though smacking decidedly of the figures in a waxworks exhibition.
The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine|Francis Miltoun