Chess and goose game board

India, Gujarat

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 520

One side of this work may be the earliest example in existence of a board for playing goose, a game that was first made popular at the Medici court in Florence. Dice-throwing contestants race to the center while trying to avoid landing on certain symbols. The board’s design follows an Italian Renaissance print, but the workmanship of the inlay is likely that of Gujarati artisans in Western India, who produced various works including shell for the Northern European market.

Chess and goose game board, Ebony, ebonized wood, ivory, horn, gold wire, India, Gujarat

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