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About this object

  • ID:

    A23502

  • Production date:

    16th century

  • Location:

    In Store

  • A ball for 'real' or 'royal' tennis, fashioned from leather with a stuffing of compacted dog's hair. The leather has been cut into quarters and the segments are stitched together along the seams. Most of the stitching has come apart and there a several holes in the leather. This ball was discovered in the rafters of Westminster Hall in the 1920s. There is no evidence that real tennis was played at Westminster after c.1520 and so this ball almost certainly dates to the late 15th or very early 16th century.  < ...Read more

  • Measurements

    DM 40 mm; WT 45 g

  • Materials

    leather; hair

  • Last Updated

    2024-03-14

FURTHER INFORMATION
  • NUMBER OF ITEMS

    1

  • STATUS

    permanent collection

  • COPYRIGHT HOLDER

    digital image copyright Museum of London

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Record quality:

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