Antique Chinese Mother of Pearl Gaming Counters, c1800-1850, Canton

A lot of antique Chinese mother of pearl gaming counters, hand carved in the Canton workshops for the European market around 1800 to 1850. Counters like these were sold boxed in sets of 140 (oblongs, squares and rounds) and used as betting tokens in card games like loo and quadrille. The lot is everything pictured, in all three classic shapes: long oblongs, rectangles and rounds. Each one is cut from a single piece of shell, finely hand engraved with Chinese village scenes, pagodas, figures, birds and foliage, with pierced fretwork borders and a plain central cartouche (the space left for a family monogram, never added on these). Lovely lustre when they catch the light. Good antique condition for their age: some grime in the piercings that would clean up, and light surface wear. No major losses that I can see, but please look closely at the photos. Single counters like these sell for around GBP 10 to 30 each from UK specialist dealers, so this is good value as a group. Happy to send more photos or a piece count. Pick up Hamilton, or can post NZ wide tracked and insured at cost. Junkie NZ | Vintage, retro and collectable finds, Hamilton.