SPANISH OR ITALIAN, PARTS LATE 15TH 16TH CENTURY AND LATER, ADAPTED

Details

A SOUTH EUROPEAN BONE AND IVORY INLAID HARDWOOD GAMES BOX
SPANISH OR ITALIAN, PARTS LATE 15TH 16TH CENTURY AND LATER, ADAPTED
The lid inlaid for backgammon, the reverse for chess or draughts, the sides decorated with geometric inlay and fitted with various hooks to three sides, the interior later canvas lined, gilt-brass engraved lock escutcheon and hinges, with ivory restorations probably 19th century
2 3/8 x 7¼ x 6 in. (6 x 8.5 x 15.5 cm.)

Literature

Hans & Barbara Holländer, Schach Partie Durch Zeiten und Welten, Museum Für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, 2005, fig. 285, page 89.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The eight pointed star motif formed of interlocking squares is very similar to taracea decoration found on Spanish games boards, boxes and chests of the 15th Century (See Christie's London, 31 March 2009, lot 115 and 13 April 2010, lot 56). However, geometric inlay was also the favoured background to frame the ivory and bone panelled caskets carved by the Venetian Embracchi workshops. Stylistically this 'certosina' patterning is also of eastern influence, apparently made in North Italian Carthusian monastries, and it is possible that this technique spread from North Africa and Spain. See Ewald Berger, Ornamental Caskets Eight Centuries, Arnoldsche, 1998 page 101.

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