Makram Saleh wrote...
Amazing! I wonder what is it used for? just art?

jaronsummers wrote...
Someone has ruined a perfectly good elephant.

anonymous troll wrote...
> Someone has ruined a perfectly good elephant. Yeah.... well, at least they didn't grind it up and snort it so they could get their chubby on.

jay_moe wrote...
It's a game where the object is to pass a a pin (usually more shaped ivory) through the entire ball..difficult enough as the holes are not regularly distributed.. beautiful piece of work all in all, shame about the elephant..

Alex Gray wrote...
Different times, people. This thing is like 100 years old... ivory was harvested at a time when people couldn't yet imagine the idea that we might run out of elephants. Hell, at the time this was made, we were making piano keys and billiard balls from the same stuff.

Tomisimo wrote...
A beautiful work of art

Leon wrote...
Most of the ivory used in China for at least the past century is mammoth ivory. You can only buy this by the ton, not the kilo, and is perfectly legal. It's apparently very enjoyable to carve. You can pick things like this up made from Jade - although admittedly less intricate - for around $3 at any Chinese market. This one's beautiful!

pricelessone_83 wrote...
The design is that of a "puzzle ball" ... there are many Jade replicas of this similar design ... I don't know about matching intricacy or detail, but the idea behind it is that of a game for young children. I should buy a couple of the replicas to save for my children, whenever I have them... hehe

Ale_____x wrote...
I have one of these. It was my grandfathers. The carved out inner surfaces rotate freely inside. the one i have has 12 layers. its absolutely amazing!

Linda wrote...
I also have one of these. The amazing thing about these balls is that they were carved from ONE piece of ivory. I am an animal rights advocate and would never buy a piece today, but I got mine in the 60's. It is a special treasure.

Matt Cline wrote...
I was just there a few weeks ago and have seen some of these types of carvings in other museums. They are absolutely fantastic and the craftsmanship needed to do this seems almost supernatural. Great shot.

Minigeek wrote...
This is actually currently on display at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan (as of 3 weeks ago from personal experience).

Omeudentista® wrote...
I don't approve elephant killing, but elephant dies and the bones and ivory survives longer, so, how do you know and elephant was shot for this and other sculptures?

John Shappell wrote...
Thats a nice photo of the ivory ball. I have one of these that I got in Hong Kong in the 60s. John...

a_buzit wrote...
hello i also have one of these balls. and i believe it is ivory, i was wondering if anyone has any idea to how much one of these peices is worth.. thanks for your help...

April wrote...
wow, this is amazing. i wonder how long it took to carve that out.

Stephen Chang wrote...
i was watching a documentry about the national palace museum, and this ivory ball and the balls inside are made out of one piece of ivory.. scientists still to this day with all the technology we have, do not know how it was made.

kate.hicks2 wrote...
I have a carved ball just like this one, it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I just wish it were made from some other material.

Al Hunt wrote...
@Stephen Chang - Of course they know how it was made. Patience and curved tools. A solid sphere is carved, then conical holes are drilled into the sphere, meeting at the center. Curved tools are inserted into the holes to carve and free the first ball furthest in. Other tools are used to rotate the now freed ball and carve it further. Incredible skill and patience, without a doubt, but no mystery. Once that sphere is completed, curved tools again free another layer, and the process is repeated. The skill of these fantastic artists shouldn't be cast aside with nonsense like "scientists do not know how it was made".

josephleelake wrote...
I have two of thses balls. One I know for sure is made of ivory, and has 8 layers. I inherited them from my fathers estate. The other may be ivory, but am not sure. Where can I sell these in the Lansing, MI area?.

billymaze wrote...
Those claiming to have puzzle balls shouldn't worry about elephants being harmed. I can almost guarantee that they are synthetic ivory. 99% of those sold to American tourists are mass produced and aren't genuine ivory. I know this because I had a genuine example appraised several years ago and was told by the appraiser that this was only the second real puzzle ball he had appraised.

Erwin Susilo wrote...
Just watch Nat Geo about National Palace museum in taiwan, they have this unique item (original). This is the most rare item, no one can understand how to made it (the original one) no cutting, how each ball was made inside the other ball.. it's mysterious.

Stephen Chang wrote...
@fracture go watch National Geographic TV's episode about National Palace museum. mr_freeday just mentioned the same thing I mentioned. Where are you getting your information from on how it was made?

Al Hunt wrote...
From a display in a museum in Shanghai. A video presentation, display of tools, pictures showing one being made, samples of some only half finished. They're still made. Presumably from some sort of resin, not ivory, nowadays. You not knowing how they're made doesn't mean they're a mystery to everyone.

turn turn turn1 wrote...
I've seen a couple of old turning books with instructions on how to make nested balls. It's no secret and could probably be found fairly easily through google books or an archive.org search. The only scientist that don't know how it was done either don't care or have lazy research assistants. Here's a link to a set of tools that do the job. It would be pretty easy to make some from discarded high carbon steel if you would rather do that. www.dick.biz/dick/product/701981/detail.jsf

nettieedwards11 wrote...
i have one of these puzzle balls with the three elephants standing upright with the ball sitting on their out streched trunks. it has been in my family for over a hundred years and was wandering what it is worth.

Saria_Athen wrote...
Does anyone know the measurements of this particular piece? I'm trying to write a school report comparing two ivory carvings and this one is sure to blow the classes mind.

music_lizard_77 wrote...
Does anybody know what something like this would be worth?

fiona.lippmann wrote...
Just seen one sold at auction .. £220

kawanglee1113 wrote...
Only £220? That is so cheap are you sure about that? By the way anyone what is the actual size and how many layers is it?