WORLD CULTURES : ASIA
- Date Made
- 1890 (circa)
- Description
- Ivory and wood puzzle ball. This ball is a fine example of the skill of the Chinese ivory carver. It contains nineteen concentric carved balls, making twenty in all. They are all carved from a single piece of elephant ivory and each ball is free-moving. The ball was made in China in the 19th century purely as an export piece. Carved ivory objects were popular with Europeans and many carvings were produced solely for the export market. The ball dates to about 1890 and is hung on a carved ebony stand. It is likely the stand was not made specially for theis particular puzzle ball.
- Materials
-
Ivory
wood - Catalogue Number
- BELUM.C681.1892
- Notes
- National Museums NI
National Museums NI holds over a million objects in the collection, as well as this we manage the records and associated images for each object through a working database. The national collection has been almost 200 years in the making, and we recognise that thinking about collecting and collections has evolved over this time and continues to evolve. As a result, some of our records may contain language and views that we now consider offensive and unacceptable, for example, reflecting racist attitudes. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to reviewing and updating our records accordingly. Working with researchers, communities and academic partners we are learning more about the stories behind objects, and we are committed to sharing these with our audiences. We welcome feedback. Please email [email protected]