SPAIN, 15TH CENTURY

Details

A NASRID EBONY AND IVORY INLAID GAMES BOARD
SPAIN, 15TH CENTURY
Formed as a box hinged in the centre, the exterior worked as a chessboard with alternating ivory and ebony squares, triangles of geometric flowerheads around the sides, opening to reveal a backgammon board with alternating light and brown wood triangles along each side, the centre of each face with a lozenge of finer mosaic work, 17th century engraved brass lock, later hinges, splitting, slight damage
20½in. (52cm.) wide

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Both backgammon and chess were popular in the Islamic world and the combined boards of the form found here are known at least from the 14th century onwards. An all-wood non folding example is in Granada (Arte islámico en Granada, exhibition catalogue, Granada, 1995, no.181, p.427). Another much more elaborate example was sold at Sotheby's, 24 October 2007, lot 158. The note to that cites a third example in the Kunsthistorischesmuseum, Vienna. A further particularly elaborate example, which has been attributed to Italy but dating from circa 1500 and showing very considerable Islamic influence, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Islamische Kunst und Kultur aus Osmanischer Zeit, exhibition catalogue, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1985, vol.2, no, p.330).

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