Circa 1800 Napoleonic Prisoner Of War Bone Ear Spoon/toothpick

A rare Napoleonic prisoner-of-war bone ear spoon/toothpick/nail cleaner, carved in the form of a fish with red and black line decoration, 3 blades that fold away into the head, an ear spoon at the opposite end, and a ball cage.

Once you get past the somewhat gross and highly inadvisable functions, this is a little jewel of craftsmanship. Carved with only the simple tools available to prisoners, each of the four pillars of the ball cage is only about 1mm diameter. The ball was not inserted afterwards but carved from the same piece of bone between the pillars. The fragility of this structure has resulted in few of these surviving after approximately 225 years.

Items like this were made by prisoners confined in terrible conditions to sell to supplement their meagre diet.

Measurements:
Length: 7 cm (2.8 in) (with bladed closed)
Width/depth: Approximately 7mm (0.3 in)

Condition: Excellent. No damage.