24 Spheres Puzzle Ball 24 Spheres Puzzle Ball

Exported to Europeans in the 19th century, this puzzle ball, nicknamed, "The Ball of the Devil's Work" due to the complex and immense skill one requires to carve and decorate multiple orbs resting within each other. The artist first drills out evenly distributed and conical holes in a sphere shaped ivory block. After creating layers between orbs, the artist then uses an L-shaped chisel to carve out gaps between the layers to allow the orbs to float freely within each other.

As the symbol of good luck, a puzzle ball is often characterized with auspicious motifs of Chinese mythologies, vernacular literature, or religious icons. The exterior layer of the Lizzadro puzzle ball is intricately decorated with intertwined dragons and swirling cloud patterns covering the entire surface. The decorations of the inside orbs are much simpler, with lace-like geometric patterns that resemble the shape of copper coins in traditional China.