 Amber Necklace |
 Gin Glass |
 Neck Ornament |
 Irish Lady's Tresses Orchid |
 The Lennox Quilt |
 Fossil Crinoids |
 Madonna and Child |
 A Red Alga |
 Irish Wolfhound |
 Coates Family Photograph |
 Chinese Ivory Puzzle Ball |
 Early Medieval Tomb-shaped Shrine |
 The Green Coat, Sir John Lavery |
 Juvenile Bald Eagle |
Chinese Ivory Puzzle Ball
Victorian
Purchased.
Accession No: C681.1892
The puzzle ball was purchased by the Ulster Museum in 1892 from a London dealer called Charles L. Grant, for 21.
The Chinese have used ivory as an artist's material for thousands of years. The elephant tusk used to make this object was probably imported from Africa in the 19th century. Often ornaments such as these were produced for the European export market.
The puzzle is made by turning a solid ball of ivory on a lathe. Cone shaped holes are then drilled towards the centre. Special sharp tools are put through these holes to cut free the inner most ball at the centre of the piece of ivory. The successive balls are produced in the same way, thus producing, in this example, 20 moveable concentric balls; each contained within the next.
Each ball is carved with openwork designs; the outermost ones being the most finely decorated as this area is most accessible to the craftsman. The detail on the outer ball is amazing. The entire surface is busy with tiny people, buildings, flowers, foliage, beetles and butterflies.
In theory this is a 'toy' and it is possible to carefully move the balls using a pointed stick to line up all the holes. Due to the age and fragile nature of the object however, this isn't usually recommended.
Comment
Fiona Baird, Education Department
I first saw a set of Chinese carved ivory puzzle balls on the 'Antiques Roadshow' television programme. I was about twelve at the time and utterly fascinated at the explanation of how they were manufactured. These objects are an amazing expression of ingenuity and superb craftsmanship. On a point of conservation, modern elephant ivory and ebony wood are both listed in CITES and therefore rarely available for craft use.
