French 1920s Wooden Soldier Skittles - Set of 5 with Ball wood and fabric The Book of Tea is

The Book of Tea is a long essay linking the role of "Chadō" (teaism) to the aesthetic and cultural aspects of Japanese life

features wonderful full page caricatures of "the sovereigns" of the era by Portuguese painter and caricaturist Tomás Júlio Leal da Câmara (1876-1948)

The leather of the strap closure for the box is somewhat stiff/cracked

with its brown squiggles--set against bright white and framed in mustard yellow--almost like abstracted figures marching around the perimeter of the vase

with a terrific patina

French 1920s Wooden Soldier Skittles - Set of 5 with Ball wood and fabric The Book of Tea isI am pretty certain these wonderful hand painted turned wooden pins or skittles are French and that they date to the 1920s or so; I have found a few other sets which, though not exact matches, are fairly close. And I believe there would originally have been nine of them, to arrange in a diamond formation then roll this yellow ball at, in them hopes of knocking them all down. With their great tall hats and white buttons all down their fronts, at first