![]() ![]() While puzzle balls are technically puzzles, solved by aligning the holes (using toothpicks is recommended), they were largely decorative due to their fragility. In comparison, the early examples Cao Zhao describes have just three. Each has about 20 to 25 layers of ivory, all carefully chiseled from a single piece of the material. The Heritage owns two exquisite puzzle balls from the 19th century, when the art form-a special style of carving from Guangzhou, or Canton-reached its peak. ![]() Later on, they became known as ‘concentric balls’ or ‘puzzle balls.’” ![]() “When you look at them, they look perfect. So why the allusion to spirits? “People said that something like this could not be carved by a human,” says Jeffrey Moy, the executive director of Chicago’s Heritage Museum of Asian Art. Each layer has holes evenly distributed across its thin surface, simultaneously concealing and revealing the artistry beneath. Among his writings on fine craft, including porcelain and bronze items, is a description of a peculiar object: guǐ gōng qiú (鬼工球), or “devil’s work ball.” That name might bring to mind something insidious, but Cao was referring to beautiful, hand-carved ivory orbs that nest inside each other, such that the inner ones are free-floating. ![]() In 1388, the Ming scholar Cao Zhao published Gegu yaolun, an instrumental guide to collecting and assessing Chinese antiques. ![]()
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