Deep-carved oblong gaming counter depicting two boys playing with a ball while a man with a fan in his hand looks on from a fenced off terrace. Are they playing soccer? The background is formed by mountains and a pavilion. 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 birds 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 0.22 cm.