350, Michèle Wilson, Le Banquet Estival

This is a beautiful wooden puzzle by Michèle Wilson. The title is Le Banquet Estival, with a decorated hand fan from the 18th century. You can admire the original item at the Musée de l’Eventail, in Paris.

The puzzle is INCOMPLETE (6 missing pieces), as you can see in the photograph of the puzzle assembled. Normally, I would reserve a puzzle with so many missing pieces for replacements. However, these puzzles by Michèle Wilson are cut manually, which means there are not 2 identical units. Perhaps someone will still enjoy putting it together, as I did. The pieces are very small and delicate, and they are in excellent condition. The box is in good condition, with some shelf wear. The process of putting together one of these puzzles is quite different from regular cardboard puzzles. It is much more difficult and you need to be careful and delicate handling and placing the pieces. However, it is a great puzzle experience.

The theme of decorated fans is not new in puzzles. Past Times published a 500 piece double-sided puzzle with the title Rococo Fans.

More information about Le Banquet Estival:

• Puzzle size: 43 x 23 cm.
• Box size: 18.2 x 14.7 x 5.2 cm.
• Reference number: C105-350.
• EAN number: 3700183400587.