Games box
Category
Wooden objects
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, lacquer and mother-of-pearl.
Measurements
126 x 385 x 308 mm
Place of origin
Jingdezhen
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Manor and Garden, Gloucestershire
NT 1332062
Summary
Wooden Chinese export laquered games box and lid with seven lidded compartments and twelve card trays in two stacks of six for the game Pope Joan. The boxes and trays are black lacquered with gilded decoration of a dragon on the main box lid and floral decoration around the sides. The smaller boxes inside have floral decoration and are mainly in black and red and the card trays also show floral decoration. The compatments contain two hundred mother-of-pearl counters, sixty rectangular with figure and tree decoration, nine rectangular with a figure and a house, twenty-nine small rectangular counters, twenty-five circular counters, fifteen floral oval counters, three thin circular counters with rose decoration, five engraved and pierced rectangular counters and one hundred and twenty-four fish shaped counters. The box also contains three hundred and six cards, appearing to be from three different decks (some incomplete?) with different patterns on reverse. One of the three decks appears to be a tarot deck of minor arcana cards. There are two plain playing cards cards, fourty-five with small checked reverses, fifty-two with a blue floral pattern, fifty-one with a red pattern, fifty-two cards showing two coats of arms, forty-nine cards with a purple and gold leaf pattern, thirty-one cards with a brown check pattern and four cards with a blue royal coat of arms. Four of the aces show scenes from Portugal's 'Liberal Wars' including the Battle of Cape Vincent', 5th July 1833, and Portugese language texts. The whole sits on four claw feet. There is a handwritten label in unidentified writing inside which reads 'From Biarritz'.
Provenance
Given to the National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade.