{"product_id":"iron-brass-and-copper-nailed-late-19th-century-petanque-ball-1","title":"Iron, Brass and Copper Nailed Late 19th Century Petanque Ball","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eA beauty. I've found a few of these over the years but it has been a while. It is a French petanque ball \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e(petanque a version of boules), late 19th century; they don't make iron studded ones like this anymore! From what I have learned about examples like this, the interior of the ball is likely olive wood, which was hand-shaped and sanded, and then t\u003cspan\u003ehe square iron nails were hammered in one by one, \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ewith each nail hole precisely placed so as not to affect the balance and weight distribution of the ball. On this example, brass and copper nails were used to create a pattern, which would have distinguished one players balls from the others. As I understand it, someone very knowledgable could look at this and determine the region in France where it was made, perhaps the specific maker, but that person is not me! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust shy of 4\" d. Very good antique condition. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"critical EYE Finds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48643540091134,"sku":null,"price":95.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0015\/5022\/1382\/files\/IMG_0835_d6d5572f-3356-4f77-b2cb-14ab7dedca5a.jpg?v=1784576345","url":"https:\/\/www.criticaleyefinds.com\/products\/iron-brass-and-copper-nailed-late-19th-century-petanque-ball-1","provider":"critical EYE Finds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}