When mahjong first caught on in America in the 1920s, the elegant sets imported from Shanghai looked like this: finely polished cases made from elm and rosewood and hand painted tiles made from cattle bone and bamboo.

This set is a reproduction of those classic sets, crafted by hand from snow white cattle bone and delicate slabs of native Chinese bamboo. The cover is inlaid with a bone design of bats. Bats are a symbol of good luck in Chinese (and particularly among mahjong players), as the Chinese word for bat ''fu'' is a homonym for the word for luck.

Please note that this is a hand made mahjong set made with natural materials using traditional methods. Each tile is cut and carved one piece a time, and the characters are inked by hand. Hand cut bone and bamboo tiles are slightly smaller than fiberglass mahjong tiles, and coloring and shape varies slightly from tile to tile and set to set.

• Contains 36 Circles, 36 Bamboos, 36 Characters, 12 Dragons (red, a yellow, and white), 16 Winds (N, S, E, W), 8 Flowers, 8 Seasons, 10 joker tiles, and four spares.
• Includes four racks, a pair of dice, a set of betting sticks, and four wind tiles for determining seating placement.
• The case measures 13-1/8L x 7-5/8''W x 3-1/8''H (33.3cm x 19.2cm x 8cm)
• Tiles measure 1-1/8''L x 13/16''W x 1/2''H (3cm x 2.1cm x 1.3cm)
• This is an American mahjong set. It includes all the pieces necessary for both the Chinese and American version of the game, including joker tiles and racks. An instruction manual in English is included.

Creating a Bone and Bamboo Mahjong Set See how our bone and bamboo mahjong sets are made.
The Mahjong Museum Look at more sets like this at the mahjong museum.