Pair of Antique Petanque (or Boules) Balls antique mender ruler I assume the rope wrapped

I assume the rope wrapped around it was indeed once used to keep it from venturing too far away when floated in a pond or lake--and it does appear as if it may have seen some choppy waters

I'm not totally sure what these were made to be used for--perhaps something related to fishing

and--especially as I'd put these immediately to use serving dips and spreads and olives

I've found a few other snuff boxes like this that portray humorous scenes

Paper dolls are about 5 3/4" tall and in very good condition

Pair of Antique Petanque (or Boules) Balls antique mender ruler I assume the rope wrappedI've always got an eye out for old handmade petanque boules balls, but these are the first that I've found, French and dating to the late 19th century I believe. These were made manually by hammering steel (and in this case one brass on each) nails into olive wood balls, one by one, which I understand then required several years to properly cure. Beautifully crafted and wonderfully tactile, each of these weighs nearly two pounds. Approx 3 1 2" in