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Game Piece with the Blinded Samson Led by a Boy to the Philistine Temple of Dagon

ca. 1150
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 14
Numerous Romanesque playing pieces were produced in Cologne, a thriving center of ivory carving. This example illustrates a boy leading the blinded Samson to the pillars of the Philistine temple of Dagon. It would have been one of a set of fifteen pieces in a board game similar to backgammon, engaging an equal number of pieces displaying the feats of Samson and of Hercules.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Game Piece with the Blinded Samson Led by a Boy to the Philistine Temple of Dagon
  • Date: ca. 1150
  • Geography: Made in Cologne, Germany
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Walrus ivory
  • Dimensions: 2 7/8 x 13/16 in. (7.3 x 2 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Walrus
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.158
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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Game Piece with Hercules Slaying the Three-Headed Geryon
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Game Piece with an Eagle Attacking a Hare
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ca. 1100–1200
Diptych with Scenes of the Life of Christ and the Virgin, Saint Michael, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, and the Trinity, Elephant ivory, German
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