Deep-carved oblong gaming counter depicting a man who shows a small bird cage to another man with a folded fan in his hand. A third man, probably a servant, looks on. The other two are wearing headgear which distinguishes them as belonging to the scholarly classes. The intricate armorial belongs to Workman-MacNaghten family and shows the ‘I hope in God’ motto of the MacNaghtens as well as the French motto ‘Non pas l’ouvrage mais l’ouvrier’ of the Workman family which translates into ‘Not the finished work, but the workman’ which is a pun to their name. Two bugs are carved out on both sides of the motto. The border on the front is decorated with plum flowers and bats. Plum flowers have five petals which represent ‘Longevity, Wealth, Health, Love of Virtue and a Peaceful death’. The bat (Fu) stands for ‘Blessings’. The border on the back shows berries of the evergreen plant ‘Rohdea Japonica’ (Wannianqing) which is a pun for ‘ten thousand years’. It is interesting that typical Chinese puns were used for the decoration. The counter dates from the Daoguang period (道光 1820 – 1850). Length 6.9 cm. Width 2.8 cm. Thickness 0.25 cm.