Pair of Antique Petanque (or Boules) Balls antique mender ruler I'm not totally sure what

I'm not totally sure what these were made to be used for--perhaps something related to fishing

and--especially as I'd put these immediately to use serving dips and spreads and olives

with this stocky figure carrying something in his (I believe his) arms

A little wear around the edges of the gold painted frame plus tearing to the black paper on the back

Pair of Antique Petanque (or Boules) Balls antique mender ruler I'm not totally sure whatI've always got an eye out for old handmade petanque boules balls, but these are the first that I've found, French and dating to the late 19th century I believe. These were made manually by hammering steel (and in this case one brass on each) nails into olive wood balls, one by one, which I understand then required several years to properly cure. Beautifully crafted and wonderfully tactile, each of these weighs nearly two pounds. Approx 3 1 2" in