Four Tiles Forming a Backgammon Board

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Four Tiles Forming a Backgammon Board

Iran, Isfahan, 17th century
Ceramics
Fritware, cuerda seca technique
a-d) 9 x 9 x 3/4 in. (22.86 x 22.86 x 1.91 cm) each
Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost (M.2012.22a-d)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

According to the Persian poet Firdawsi in his epic poem the Shahnama, chess was introduced to Iran from India in the sixth century by an envoy of the rajah, who threatened to cease paying tribute unle...
According to the Persian poet Firdawsi in his epic poem the Shahnama, chess was introduced to Iran from India in the sixth century by an envoy of the rajah, who threatened to cease paying tribute unless the Persians could solve the riddle of the chessboard and its pieces. Buzurgmihr, the shah’s vizier, or minister, recognized that chess was a game of war fought by symbolic armies; he invented the game of backgammon, or nard, as a reciprocal test of skill. In this charming and unusual backgammon board, which once may have served as floor tiles, tiny figures are shown seated on the ground, two of them playing a board game.
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Bibliography

  • Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.