{"product_id":"french-antique-clay-boules-petanque-03112622","title":"French Antique Clay Boules Petanque Balls Set of 3 Vintage 03112622","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:24px;text-align:center;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:24px;text-align:center;\"\u003eFrench Antique Clay Boules\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA set of three French antique clay boules -- les boules en terre, as they were known before metal sets became the standard -- made for the game of petanque or jeu de boules that has been part of French village life for well over a century. Clay balls of this kind predate the chrome-plated steel versions almost universally used today, and surviving sets in this condition are increasingly hard to find at French brocantes. The material appears to be a dense, hand-packed clay, smoothed and shaped by hand, consistent with rural French craft production from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach ball carries the deep, warm character that only decades of outdoor play and storage can produce. The surfaces range from a smooth, close-grained texture to a boldly crazed and pitted finish, giving each ball its own personality within the set. One shows a pronounced lengthwise split that has opened with age and drying, while another displays a cluster of small surface holes and heavy crackling. Grouped together in a bowl, on a mantel or along a shelf, they read beautifully as a piece of French rustic history -- the kind of object a farmhouse decorator or a collector of early sporting goods would place without hesitation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition and patina consistent with age. One ball has a prominent open split crack; all three show surface crazing, minor pitting and the blackened mineral marks that come with long use and natural aging. Nothing here is alarming -- these details are precisely what makes them compelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach ball measures approximately 3.9 to 4.1 in in diameter (10 to 10.5 cm).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e95% of my items are tariff-free to the US.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- fmf-shopify --\u003e","brand":"Fleamarketfrance","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59017296970072,"sku":"FMF-JAXCCC5C","price":155.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0895\/5776\/2392\/files\/5a21cba7bf7a358e882ec4bf720a5b65.jpg?v=1793688469","url":"https:\/\/fleamarketfrance.com\/products\/french-antique-clay-boules-petanque-03112622","provider":"Fleamarketfrance","version":"1.0","type":"link"}