I'm trying find some information on this. My aunt showed it to me the other day while she was in town. Basically, it appears to be a stone carved into a football(Non U.S.) like shape that has a smaller ball inside it which has an even smaller football inside that. Non of the balls can possibly escape. As far as I can tell, it was all carved from one piece of stone.
She says a friend of hers picked it up at a secondhand store for $2.00 US. I'm thinking it's worth a fair amount more than that. Her friend also has a bigger one with 5 concentric (is that the right word?) balls. She paid $4.00 US for that one. Both seem like they would be worth a fair amount more than that.

I attached a picture. Sorry it's small and bad, but that's all I have.

Any insight into this would be helpful. Thanks!

-d

If you search for "chinese puzzle" on a well known auction site you should find more examples of this puzzle...

Wow, that was quick!
Thanks!

Looks like she got a great deal. I may have to get one, they're pretty neat!

Here's a better image I found:
http://www.busaccagallery.com/catalog.p ... 756&page=1
Hers isn't that elaborate though.

-d

I ended up ordering a 5 layer carved jade ball. It's pretty insane how they are able to carve each layer. I attached a couple of pictures.
A crazy gray feline decided he wanted to be in the picture too. So did the 2 ft Rubik's cube.

Anyway, for a carved stone, I think it was a good deal considering the work and detail that went into it.

-d

Chinese balls are usually very well carved and many of them can be regarded as
masterpieces of art. They used to be part of the entertainment for emperors,
and this is why they came together with some stands, also carved in a magnificent way.

Regarding the layers, the more the layers, the more precious (and expensive) the puzzle is.
I have a tiny 11-layer ball made of ivory, and I am sure that if I ever take it out of Australia,
I would never be allowed to bring it back!!!

And I do agree with what you say, the way it is done, makes it look like an impossible object.
Beautiful, elegant, classy, exotic, mysterious, artistic, you name it!




Pantazis

My brother-in-law's dad was an ivory carver. He's a lovely gent who gave me a necklace and some earrings of this 'puzzle' when we got married. I agree with Panda, they are beautifully done. I know he told me it took him days to carve out the earrings for me. But unlike balls, jewelry can be worn out and back in again (It just has to be remembered and put on)