8 October 2024 | 10 AM BST
Unique 12th century gaming piece to appear at auction at Gorringe’s of Lewes – discovered in a sock drawer!
A Romanesque madder stained walrus ivory Tableman or gaming piece, Cologne c.1140-1180 AD
The centre carved in high relief with a seated crossbowman firing upward, his squire behind him holding a shield over his head and a quiver of bolts
Literature – The Victoria & Albert Museum includes a number of similar gaming pieces in its collection and their catalogue entry states -
Round gaming pieces such as this one almost certainly belonged to sets of 'tablemen'. The game of tables, or backgammon was popular in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, draughts only becoming established in the later Middle Ages. There were fifteen counters to each side, and twelfth-century boards inlaid with bone settings have been excavated at Gloucester and Saint- Denis. Only one full set with two sides of fifteen counters and a board, that at Gloucester, still exists, but it is clear that a great variety of subjects was carved on the discs, ranging from single animals to scenes from classical mythology.
Although some 250 examples of Romanesque gaming pieces decorated with figures are known to exist, most are held in museum collections and are scarcely seen for sale on the open market.
Lot 40 in Interiors & Decorative Arts Sale on 8th October
Lot 40.jpg
Lot 40
A Romanesque madder stained walrus ivory Tableman or gaming piece, Cologne, c.1140-1180 AD
Estimate £10,000-£15,000
