Chinese puzzle ball

A Chinese puzzle ball, sometimes known as a devil's work ball (Chinese: 鬼工球; pinyin: guǐ gōng qiú), is a Chinese-made artifact that consists of a number of intricately carved concentric hollow spheres carved from a single solid block that fit within one another in a way that looks impossible.[1] They were traditionally made of ivory.[2] Following the international ban on the ivory trade, manufacturers of puzzle balls have tried using other materials, including bone.[3]

A puzzle ball on display at the Overseas Museum, Bremen
An ivory puzzle ball from the Felsenmuseum Bernstein collection in Austria

They are made from a single solid ball with conical holes drilled in it, with the carver separating the different spherical shells using L-shaped tools.[4][5] 3D imaging using computational tomography has been used to identify details of the manufacturing process.[6]

See also

References
  1. Schaumberg, Erica M. "Carved Ivory Puzzle Balls". Wonders of Nature and Artifice. Gettysburg College. Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  2. Voon, Claire (May 3, 2019). "The Mind-Boggling Artistry of China's Ivory Puzzle Balls". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  3. "The Illustrious Puzzle Ball". Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  4. Dalgety, James (2017). "Puzzle balls and Ivory". www.puzzlemuseum.com. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  5. Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina (2018-06-23). "Chinese And European Ivory Puzzle Balls". Zenodo. doi:10.5281/ZENODO.1296756.
  6. van Liere, Robert (25 May 2018). "3D Imaging of Chinese Puzzle Balls: A Case Study in Technical Art History" (PDF). Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-06-18.


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