Chinese puzzle ball
A Chinese puzzle ball, sometimes known as a devil's work ball (Chinese: 鬼工球; pinyin: guǐ gōng qiú) or the Concentric Ball (Chinese: 同心球; pinyin: tóng xīn 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] often consisting of fourteen layers.[1]
They were traditionally made of ivory.[2] Ivory carving is a traditional art and folk craft in ancient China. On May 20, 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list approved by the State Council.[3]
Following the international ban on the ivory trade, manufacturers of puzzle balls have tried using other materials, including bone.[4] 3D imaging using computational tomography has been used to identify details of the manufacturing process.[5]
The name "Chinese puzzle ball" likely stems from the Chinese Daoist idiom "gui fu sheng gong" (Chinese: 鬼斧神工; pinyin: guǐ fǔ shén gōng), which translates as "the demon's axe paired with the deity's workmanship," emphasizing the craft's intricate and delicate nature with supernatural connotations.[6]
Originating from Guangdong province, particularly Guangzhou/Canton, these intricate balls were originally local tribute items and luxury export goods.[7]
History[edit]
Although the production of Chinese puzzle balls reached its peak in the eighteenth century during the Qing dynasty, records indicate earlier iterations of puzzle balls during the Song and Ming dynasties. The earliest mention of Chinese puzzle balls dates back to Cao Zhao's 1338 book Gegu Yaolun (Essential Criteria of Antiques), describing a simpler version assumed to have been made by an artisan at the Song dynasty court .[7] Gao Lian noted the appearance of a 14-layer puzzle ball in 1591, although the artifact he mentioned was made of stone (Van Liere & Wang, 2021, p. 248). In 1792, Wang Qishu reported seeing thirteen-layer Chinese puzzle balls being sold in Canton, China.[7]
Some scholars, such as Ching-fei Shih, argue that Chinese puzzle balls were influenced by European Contrefaitkugeln geometric carved ivory balls due to similarities in craftsmanship and the use of turning lathes in modern production.[6] However, Maurice Klaus disputes this claim, noting that artisans in China created puzzle balls manually before the introduction of lathes.[6] Bing Huang also suggests that China and Europe may have exchanged knowledge about polyhedral geometry through German Jesuit missions, leading to improved craftsmanship in both regions.[6]
From the 1730s onward, Guangdong artisans began mass-producing puzzle balls as tributes to the emperor.[6] The highest-quality puzzle balls were selected by Tribute bureau officials for presentation at the imperial court, while others were sold in domestic and export markets .[6]
Production process[edit]
Chinese puzzle balls are meticulously crafted through a time-consuming process of intricate carving and nesting. It begins with the selection of a suitable material, traditionally ivory, which is then shaped into a sphere. Geometric modeling on paper is often employed to plan the creation of the puzzle ball, ensuring uniform peepholes' diameters and consistent distances between layers.[7]
Fourteen peepholes are drilled and then the layers are separated. This stage's meticulous nature is exemplified by ivory puzzle-ball master Weng Rongbiao, who demonstrated that it takes an experienced master at least 30 hours to separate 30 layers of an ivory puzzle ball.[6] Subsequently, intricate geometric patterns are carved onto each layer before a final polishing of the outer surface.[7]
Artisans utilize lathes to rotate the ivory puzzle balls as they manually carve them with hand-held tools. Historically, lathes in China were foot-powered, but modern artisans employ electric lathes (Van Liere & Wang, 2021, p. 251). The geometric patterns in each layer are carved by "punching" a small knife or L-shaped scalpel into the ivory once for every line in a shape, necessitating the use of small delicate tools matching the width of each interior shape's side.[7]
Craft development[edit]
The art of crafting Chinese puzzle balls, refined in family workshops in Canton, has been passed down through generations since the Qianlong period.[7] For example, the Weng family is renowned for their mastery of this craft, beginning with Weng Wuzhang, who created an eleven-layer ivory puzzle ball for the Qing court during the Qianlong period. This tradition continued through the generations, culminating in Weng Yaoxiang, the latest fifth-generation master, who crafted an ivory puzzle ball with fifty-seven layers in 2003, the highest number ever achieved.[7]
Modern trading and challenges[edit]
The production and trade of guigong qiu are currently hindered by the ban on ivory processing and sales imposed by China's State Forestry Administration at the end of 2017.[8] This ban follows the nearly complete prohibition on ivory import and export enacted in 2015.[9] Like other nations' ivory sales bans, this measure aims to address the endangerment of forest elephants in Africa, where much of the world's ivory is sourced, primarily due to illegal poaching.[9] Furthermore, Asia, particularly China, is a significant consumer of ivory. A study by CITES found a positive correlation between increased illegal elephant killings and rising household ivory consumption in China, often marketed as art investments.[9]
Consequently, many puzzle ball artisans have turned to alternative materials such as mammoth tusks or ox bone. However, this shift has driven up the price of mammoth tusks, whose supply is estimated to last only another fifty years.[8] Carving masters of puzzle balls express concerns about the transmission of their skills to future generations due to ivory processing restrictions, especially as substitute materials behave differently from ivory.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 郭晓婷. "国务院关于公布第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录的通知 第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录（共计518项）__2006年第20号国务院公报_中国政府网". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "The Illustrious Puzzle Ball". Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g Huang, Bing (2022-04-03). "From God's hand to the hand of the artisan: the turned ivory sphere and the polyhedron in Qing China". Studies in Chinese Religions. 8 (2): 202–237. doi:10.1080/23729988.2022.2091376. ISSN 2372-9988.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Van Liere, Robert; Wang, Ching-Ling (2021-09-13). "Revealing the Secrets of Chinese Ivory Puzzle Balls: Quantifying the Crafting Process Using X-Ray Computed Tomography". The Rijksmuseum Bulletin. 69 (3): 244–263. doi:10.52476/trb.11050. ISSN 2772-6126.
- ^ a b c "https://kujss.iraqjournals.com/pdf_166170_8dd024058ce4abb6c364bec514cecef8.html". Kirkuk University Journal-Scientific Studies. 15 (2): 1–16. 2020-06-30. doi:10.32894/kujss.2019.15.2.1. ISSN 1992-0849.
{{cite journal}}: External link in|title= - ^ a b c Yu, Yang; Wetzler, Andrew; Yang, Xuan; Tang, Ruchun; Zhang, Li (September 2017). "Significant and Timely Ivory Trade Restrictions in Both China and the United States are Critical to Save Elephants". Conservation Letters. 10 (5): 596–601. doi:10.1111/conl.12279. ISSN 1755-263X.
External links[edit]
Media related to Chinese ivory Puzzle Balls at Wikimedia Commons
