Puzzle Ball

The maker of this 19th Century ball is not known. Approximately 2.5 inches in diameter it is made of various hardwoods, some stained.

It is particularly interesting because of its unusual construction. It has a foundation of a 6-Piece burr, with 6 further pieces placed either side of each pair. Then the corner gaps are filled in with 8 curious tetrahedral pieces. An elegant and hard to make construction for a sphere. It is possibly the puzzle which inspired the design of the standard 8 piece cube, ball, barrel, etcetera.