A CANTON SCHOOL 'MAGIC' IVORY BALL ON A...
A CANTON SCHOOL 'MAGIC' IVORY BALL ON A TALL STAND, QING DYNASTY
China, Guangdong, 1840-1900. Carved ivory with detailed openwork, reticulation and incising. The group consists of a large set of concentric balls, a supporting plate, a stand, a top finial and a base.
Provenance: From an old English private collection. Condition: Some losses, age cracks, old wear and a fine, naturally grown patina. Weight: 349 g Dimensions: Height 34.5 cmThe
set of concentric balls bears numerous smaller, nested openwork balls inside, each manually and differently carved, one inside the other from the largest to the smallest, ingenuously made from a single piece of ivory. The stand shows several scenes including scholars playing weiqi and boys holding a string of cash. The base shows floral scrolls in openwork carving.
This type of ivory balls was made in the Guangdong region during the mid- to late-Qing dynasty. The most puzzling thing about this amazing piece of craftsmanship is how these delicate balls were made one inside the other. This technique fascinated the Chinese as well as the Europeans in the 19th century and its earliest nickname was the 'demon's balls'. The process of making a demon's ball usually consists of the following six stages: 1. selection and cutting down of material 2. using a lathe to turn the cylinder into a sphere 3. boring holes 4. carving inner spheres using a curved cutting tool 5. decorative carving of outer layer 6. decorative carving of inner layersSteps
two to four consist of the intricate cutting necessary to produce nested balls. These steps require the use of a lathe. Another important trick is the drilling of evenly spaced perpendicular holes into the outer surface. In fact, this is based on an ingenious, secret geometrical concept which is believed to have been lost at some point in history, making it impossible to ever reproduce these balls again. With an associated hardwood stand, carved in openwork, dating from the same period. (2
)Literature comparison: The National Palace Museum, Taipei, recently produced an interesting video, explaining the concept and technique of ancient demon balls.
THIS LOT CAN ONLY BE SHIPPED WITHIN THE EU OR PICKED UP IN OUR GALLERY DIRECTLY. 廣東象牙套球擺件，清代中國，廣東，18401900。套球表面以高浮雕刻人物樓臺，內部則雕刻各種鏤空精緻的幾何紋，每層皆可靈活轉動。支架上鏤雕八仙及山水人物。整個擺件由承盤、支架、底座組合而成。來源：英國私人老收藏品相：一些缺損，年代裂紋，老磨損和細膩天然的包漿。重量：349
克尺寸：高34.
5
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A CANTON SCHOOL 'MAGIC' IVORY BALL ON A TALL STAND, QING DYNASTY
China, Guangdong, 1840-1900. Carved ivory with detailed openwork, reticulation and incising. The group consists of a large set of concentric balls, a supporting plate, a stand, a top finial and a base.
Provenance: From an old English private collection. Condition: Some losses, age cracks, old wear and a fine, naturally grown patina. Weight: 349 g Dimensions: Height 34.5 cmThe
set of concentric balls bears numerous smaller, nested openwork balls inside, each manually and differently carved, one inside the other from the largest to the smallest, ingenuously made from a single piece of ivory. The stand shows several scenes including scholars playing weiqi and boys holding a string of cash. The base shows floral scrolls in openwork carving.
This type of ivory balls was made in the Guangdong region during the mid- to late-Qing dynasty. The most puzzling thing about this amazing piece of craftsmanship is how these delicate balls were made one inside the other. This technique fascinated the Chinese as well as the Europeans in the 19th century and its earliest nickname was the 'demon's balls'. The process of making a demon's ball usually consists of the following six stages: 1. selection and cutting down of material 2. using a lathe to turn the cylinder into a sphere 3. boring holes 4. carving inner spheres using a curved cutting tool 5. decorative carving of outer layer 6. decorative carving of inner layersSteps
two to four consist of the intricate cutting necessary to produce nested balls. These steps require the use of a lathe. Another important trick is the drilling of evenly spaced perpendicular holes into the outer surface. In fact, this is based on an ingenious, secret geometrical concept which is believed to have been lost at some point in history, making it impossible to ever reproduce these balls again. With an associated hardwood stand, carved in openwork, dating from the same period. (2
)Literature comparison: The National Palace Museum, Taipei, recently produced an interesting video, explaining the concept and technique of ancient demon balls.
THIS LOT CAN ONLY BE SHIPPED WITHIN THE EU OR PICKED UP IN OUR GALLERY DIRECTLY. 廣東象牙套球擺件，清代中國，廣東，18401900。套球表面以高浮雕刻人物樓臺，內部則雕刻各種鏤空精緻的幾何紋，每層皆可靈活轉動。支架上鏤雕八仙及山水人物。整個擺件由承盤、支架、底座組合而成。來源：英國私人老收藏品相：一些缺損，年代裂紋，老磨損和細膩天然的包漿。重量：349
克尺寸：高34.
5
厘米 Automatically translated by DeepL. To see the original version, click here.
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Time, Location
Auction House
