Located in Nottingham, GB
Each gaming piece in this complete 144-tile set is assembled from smooth bovine bone joined to a natural bamboo backing with precise dovetail sliding joints. The bone faces are hand-carved and filled with polychrome pigments in green, red, and blue. The tiles comprise standard suits of circles, bamboos, and character tiles alongside wind honours, dragon tiles, and floral bonus tiles. To cater for international export players, the suit and honour tiles feature subtle incised Arabic numbers and Western compass initials alongside the traditional Chinese calligraphy.
Accompanying the playing tiles is a full complement of traditional scoring apparatus and game accessories. A generous bundle of carved bone tally sticks is supplied in the central well, supplemented by four miniature bone dice and a pink circular wind indicator disc. Also retained is the original English-language instruction manual titled 'Directions for Playing the Chinese Game of Four Winds', bearing the imprint of Hip Yam 'Ma Jong' of Hong Kong.
The set is housed in an embossed faux-crocodile paper-cloth travelling case secured with a top handle and a nickel-plated sliding latch marked with the 'TRICERATOPS' trade stamp. Inside, the box is lined throughout with deep bottle-green textile and configured with dedicated compartments for the booklet, dice, and scoring counters. The 144 playing tiles rest securely within four matching shallow lift-out trays, each fitted with fabric pull tabs at both ends for convenient removal during play.
Manufactured in Hong Kong circa 1920, the set represents the popular export trade that supplied Western drawing...
Category
Early 20th Century Eagle Tool and Metal Mfg