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VINTAGE

Boxwood Balls & Skittles

£19.50

A collection of beautifully made antique miniature numbered balls and skittles, each hand crafted from polished boxwood, and each a beautiful example of late 19th century treen.

We have a total of 5 skittles and 14 balls for sale, and each is sold singularly.

History

Treen, "of a tree", is a generic name for small vintage and antique handmade functional household objects made of wood. Today, treen is highly collectable for its beautiful patina and tactile appeal. Before the advent of cheap metal wares in industrialized societies, and later, plastic, wood played a much greater part as the raw material for common objects. Turning and carving were the key manufacturing techniques. The selection of wood species was important, and close-grained native hardwoods such as box, beech and sycamore were particularly favoured, with occasional use of exotics, such as lignum vitae for mallet heads.

Anything from wooden plates, bowls, small boxes, spoons, shoehorns and chopping boards can be classed as treen. Domestic and agricultural wooden tools, balls and skittles are also classed with treen, such as our wonderful items offered here. Their strongly functional and undecorated forms are now highly regarded by designers and collectors. We love treen.

Ball dimensions: Diameter 3.3cm  Circumference 11.5cm

Skittle dimensions: Height 8.8cm  Diameter 1.5cm

Country of origin: France

Year of manufacture: c.1890

Material: boxwood

Condition: excellent

Ball numbers available: 1 / 3 (x2) / 4 / 6 (x2) / 7 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 15 / 17 / 18

Please make your choice in the box below, and if you are purchasing a ball, let us know in the notes section on check-out which ball number(s) you would like.

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