Box with eighty-one game counters

ca. 1760

Not on view

The card game l’Hombre was a fashionable pastime in the eighteenth century, and special boxes were created at the Meissen porcelain manufacture to hold the necessary counters. Five playing cards decorate the lid; the one on top, which represents the King of Hearts, is based on a French deck of cards made for the German market by Claude Valentin of Lyon about 1650. For the Ace of Spades, the painter used an original card bearing the Saxon tax stamp that was imposed on all imported playing cards. The different counters were stored in four small individual boxes, now missing.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Box with eighty-one game counters
Manufactory: Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)
Date: ca. 1760
Culture: German, Meissen
Medium: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions: Overall: 2 3/4 × 4 7/8 × 6 3/4 in. (7 × 12.4 × 17.1 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Porcelain
Credit Line: Bequest of Irwin Untermyer, 1973
Object Number: 1974.28.134.1a, b–.82
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

By Meissen Manufactory

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Pounce pot, Meissen Manufactory German, Hard-paste porcelain, German, Meissen — Pounce pot
Manufactory Meissen Manufactory
1740–50

Ocarina, Max Freyer & Co., porcelain, German — Ocarina
Attributed to Max Freyer & Co.
19th century

Sugar box (one of a pair), Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory German, Hard-paste porcelain, German, Nymphenburg — Sugar box (one of a pair)
Manufactory Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory
Modeler Franz Anton Bustelli
ca. 1760

Teapot with equestrian scene, Meissen Manufactory German, Hard-paste porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels, gold, German, Meissen — Teapot with equestrian scene
Manufactory Meissen Manufactory
1722–23

Hunting Sword, Steel, brass, gold, porcelain, pigments, German, Saxony — Hunting Sword
German, Saxony
ca. 1750

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.