I'd long admired this design by Boucher, and finally got around to tracking him down and asking permission to make it. I'm so glad I did! It's really a great puzzle; even if you don't necessarily like packing puzzles you should give it a try. There are three solutions for packing all the wood pieces plus the metal dowl in. However, once you put the dowel in the hole, there is only one solution and it's very, very tricky.
Construction of this puzzle is outstanding. The tray had to be very precisely made and the location of the hole even more so. Beautiful hardwood splines reinforce the corners on top and bottom, insuring the mitered corners will not split.
Zen Puzzler wrote a great blog review of this puzzle.
https://www.zenpuzzler.com/2020/09/digging-through-puzzles-artefacts.html
Note: This puzzle has significant cosmetic defects and wear from use. Scratched bottom panel, worn finish on bottom of box, improperly sanded corner, and finish blemishes on the pieces. There is no signature or date. See photos for detail. Artifacts ships in the unsolved configuration.
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These puzzles are extras and oddballs that have accumulated in the shop. Sometimes when we make a run of puzzles we will have a few with different woods, etc. which are too much trouble to list individually on the website. These puzzles are all in new condition and fully functional.
For multiple items, combined shipping is available. Simply message me once you are finished bidding and I will send an invoice.