What I brought here today is a Chinese puzzle ball, which is an amazing piece of art and craftsmanship. Back in 1980 [my wife and I] were fortunate enough to be some of the first tourists that were allowed into China…the last stop was in Shanghai, and the tour director said ‘how would you like to go to a Chinese carving factory?’. That was sort of a misnomer because the Chinese carving factory turned out to be more of a workshop in an old building with people sitting on wooden benches doing this beautiful carving.

This ball they call the puzzle ball; there are seven balls carved within each other. This is traditionally made out of ivory, it can [also] be made out of resin, wood, [or] jade.

This belongs in the Museum of Plastic Substitutes

Exhibited by Chuck Cerny

Transcript edited by Susan Golland