The Field Guide

Bone and Bamboo Export Set

Not sure this is your set? Answer 5 quick questions about your tiles and case and we will match it for you.

Bone and bamboo export set

c. 1880s-1930s, most from the 1920s export boom

Made in Chinese workshops and exported worldwide during the 1920s craze: cattle-bone faces dovetailed onto bamboo backs, carved and inked largely by hand. If the tiles have Arabic numerals or W-N-E-S letters in the corners, the set was made for the Western market after 1920.

Quick tells

  • Two materials per tile: a cream bone face joined to a bamboo back, usually with a visible dovetail seam on the edge
  • Hand-carved, hand-inked engraving with small irregularities from tile to tile
  • Often housed in a wooden cabinet or box with little drawers; nicer cases carry inlay or carving
  • Arabic numeral and letter indices in the corners mean a post-1920 export set; no indices suggests it was made for Chinese players
  • A set marked Mah-Jongg with the double G points to the Babcock-era 1920s import wave

Confirm it with a test

  • Look for pores. Under a bright light or phone magnifier, check a tile face and edge for tiny dark pits and thin channels. Those pits are the tell for bone. Elephant ivory shows a faint cross-hatched grain instead, and almost no mahjong tiles are actually ivory.
  • Check the joint. Look at a tile edge-on where the cream face meets the bamboo. A dovetail joint (a fan-shaped interlock, not a straight glue line) is the signature of this construction.
  • Count and sort. Count the tiles and check for a full run of suits, winds, dragons, and flowers. Standard Chinese sets run 144. Completeness moves the price more than age does, and 152 matched tiles with jokers makes a set playable for American mah jongg.

What comparable sets have actually sold for

$75 - $450 (exceptional examples to $5,000)

Recent publicly visible sold prices for bone-and-bamboo sets: complete cased sets clustered in the low-to-mid hundreds, rough or possibly incomplete sets under $100. Observed July 2026. A sold-price range is not an appraisal; for insurance or estate purposes, hire a credentialed appraiser.

See the sold listings behind this range (7)
  • Bone thickness, carving quality, completeness, and the case drive the spread more than age
  • Matched 152-tile sets that can play American mah jongg sell for more; collectors report NMJL-playable jokers alone add $60 or more
  • Exceptional carved examples have sold above $5,000 per collector references, but that tier is rare; UK auction hammer prices run below US listing prices

If you are thinking of selling

  • List it as bone, not ivory: buyers and platforms both check, and mislabeled ivory listings get pulled
  • Photograph a tile edge showing the dovetail and any pores: it answers the two questions every serious buyer asks
  • Count the tiles and say the number plainly; a stated honest count beats a vague guess

Sources: mahjongtreasures.com, sloperama.com, themahjongtileset.co.uk, manual.museum.wa.gov.au

Think this one might be ivory instead?

Most cream-colored tiles like these are bone or an ivory-look plastic, not real ivory, but it is worth ruling out before you sell. Read how to tell the difference, since US and state law restrict ivory sales.

Common questions

How much is a Bone and bamboo export set worth?

Recent publicly visible sold prices for bone-and-bamboo sets: complete cased sets clustered in the low-to-mid hundreds, rough or possibly incomplete sets under $100. Comparable sets have sold for $75 to $450, with exceptional examples to $5,000, observed July 2026. That is a market observation from dated sold listings, not an appraisal.

How do I know if I have a Bone and bamboo export set?

Quick tells: Two materials per tile: a cream bone face joined to a bamboo back, usually with a visible dovetail seam on the edge; Hand-carved, hand-inked engraving with small irregularities from tile to tile; Often housed in a wooden cabinet or box with little drawers; nicer cases carry inlay or carving; Arabic numeral and letter indices in the corners mean a post-1920 export set; no indices suggests it was made for Chinese players; A set marked Mah-Jongg with the double G points to the Babcock-era 1920s import wave. Confirm with a physical test before relying on a visual match alone: look for pores (Under a bright light or phone magnifier, check a tile face and edge for tiny dark pits and thin channels.); check the joint (Look at a tile edge-on where the cream face meets the bamboo.); count and sort (Count the tiles and check for a full run of suits, winds, dragons, and flowers. Standard Chinese sets run 144.).

Keeping the set and want to play with it? Start with how American mah jongg works and check whether your set has the eight jokers the game needs. Ready to sit down at a real table? Find a game near you. Looking at today's sets instead? Browse the catalog.