Deep-carved oblong gaming counter showing a garden-setting with a seated man wearing a curious headgear with very long feathers. Long feathers on a hat were usually an indication of the rank of a general. But this man could just as well, although not likely, be a Chinese opera actor. In the centre is a man who seems to show some sort of lantern. He is wearing a mandarin’s summer hat also graced by a feather. A third person is looking on from the right. 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. The motto is flanked by a cow or buffalo on the left and a hound-like creature on the right. 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 7.0 cm. Width 2.8 cm. Thickness 0.25 cm.