French Red and White Darning Sampler with Out of Order Alphabet wooden souvenir I believe it is a

I believe it is a Tagua nut that was carved to make this little head

Head is about 3" tall

) Below their outstretched hands are the tiny gladiators sparring away with their swords and shields and helmets

but I thought they were worthy of rescuing from a pile at the flea market

French Red and White Darning Sampler with Out of Order Alphabet wooden souvenir I believe it is aI'm forever ogling antique darning samplers, especially very old Dutch ones, which are just exquisite (and very very dear.) This French one, done by a 14 year old Chantal Cheviot (signed on the edging on reverse) in the earlyish 20th century I would guess, is not one of those but I really like in other ways, including for the out of order alphabet, the reason for which I have no idea! The darning exercises on the bottom half were truly that one can