Lovely large hand carved bone box container with sliding lid containing six dice, overall measures 89mm x 52mm x 30mm.  The outside of the container has been hand etched with pictures of cards & dice.  The lid is very intricately etched with three playing cards each with multiple colours, inside the box are six large individual carved dice.  The dice themselves each measure 19mm x 19mm.  The underside is signed 'William Cole 1821'.  Sailors at sea would make these items so that they could spend time when not on duty gambling with their fellow crew mates.

All my scrimshaw is made of ox bone.  I do not support the trade in illegal carvings.  My scrimshaw is hand made using ox bone and is carved by genuine Scrimshander's using age old techniques & primitive tools as first used in the 18th century to produce a most beautiful finished article.  The superb quality pieces they create look and feel like antique originals but they are not.  Each piece is lovingly made by hand.  There are many varying qualities of modern scrimshaw but this piece is not to be confused with the mass factory produced items originating in the Far East, mine is all genuine hand made.  All my scrimshaw pieces have been copied from antique originals even down to having the original dates and signatures