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The origins of the cup and ball game are obscure and may well have been spread via international commerce. It is possible that the game was invented independently in multiple places through a common necessity in hunting cultures for early childhood training of hand-eye coordination. It is known in places as diverse as the Arctic, France & Peru. The Inuit population are known to have played it since time immemorial in the spring as a rite to hasten the return of the sun and the Japanese today have a similar traditional wooden toy known as a kendama.

The game came to England from France, where it was called the bilboquet. It became especially popular in the late 16th century in the court of Henri III. Engravings of the period show it was played en masse in parks, gardens and in the street.

In England the game first became popular in the Stuart court and in the early 19th century it enjoyed a revival. Jane Austen was reputed to have excelled in a game of bilbocatch with her nephew.

The aim of the game of bilboquet is to toss the ball, (which is attached to the stick by string), into the cup. Typically bilboquets were made of lignum vitae, boxwood or ivory.

Bilboquets are uncommon in Tunbridge Ware, possibly because, as a toy, they were prone to damage. The level of skill and time required to produce stickware examples was also likely to have restricted their production. It is estimated that some 75% of the stickware required to produce sufficient to make the ball & stick of the bilboquet would actually have gone to waste.

This handsome specimen is larger than other examples we have owned, measuring some 18cm long, with a ball diameter of approximately 4cm and a circumference of around 15cm. The whole is a particularly fine example of stickware and represents the technique at its best.

Currently on display at The Edenbridge Galleries

Please go to our Blog What a Catch for more thoughts on bilboquets.