A Bone And Bamboo Mahjong Set From The 1960s Or 1970s

DSC_0349This delightful hand carved Mahjong set comes in a wood box with a sliding top panel. I love the Dragon Joker tile (I was lucky, there are 8 carved ones) and the One Dot with the symbol for longevity, Shou, in the center. The top row of Flowers are flowers: plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, flowers usually seen when flowers are shown. The bottom row is a bit different: the rich man and the pot of gold, and two gods: according to Wikipedia probably Lü Dongbin, who dresses as a scholar and carries a sword, and Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. I love the gold paint used for the rich man, the pot of gold, and the spots on the peacock's tail.

Many experts consider these types of bone and bamboo tiles to be very well carved and a great value. Buy them while you can!

One thought on “A Bone And Bamboo Mahjong Set From The 1960s Or 1970s

  1. Tony Watson

    I have a few of these very nicely carved and painted sets. In my opinion these are VERY underrated.
    While most of them are made of compressed bone, you can find them made from real bone, but I don't see any difference in the quality of carving. The sizes vary from 24mm to 30mm - I find the smaller ones to be much cuter.

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