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Board game

Board game

  • Date:

    1840-1850 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Wood, painted, japanned and gilded, with mother-of-pearl inlay

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Mr Hugh R. Francis OBE

  • Museum number:

    W.26 to M-1959

  • Gallery location:

    British Galleries, room 122d, case 2

  • Download image

Object Type
This board game, with counters and folding board inside a decorative box, is an adaptation of a game of strategy for two players. The winner is the first player to have three counters in a row.

Time
In the 1830s and 1840s, aristocratic society became fascinated by Medieval chivalry. While the Eglinton Tournament, held on the Earl of Eglinton's Scottish estate in 1839, was ruined by bad weather, Queen Victoria's fancy-dress ball at Buckingham Palace in 1842 was a resounding success. She appeared as Queen Philippa and Prince Albert as King Edward III, the model of a chivalric couple. They wore splendid Medieval costumes and were seated on specially designed Gothic thrones. The board game illustrates this contemporary obsession with Medieval costume and decoration.

People
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1842-1909) was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He became King in 1901.This board game is decorated with his crest on the lid and the Prince of Wales feathers on the ends. One of his famous predecessors, the Black Prince, son of King Edward III, may be the figure in armour shown on two of the counters.

Date

1840-1850 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Wood, painted, japanned and gilded, with mother-of-pearl inlay

Dimensions

Height: 10.2 cm box, Width: 39 cm box, Depth: 24.9 cm box

Object history note

Although there are no rules with this board game, it appears to be a game of strategy for two players. The characters shown on the counters: the Queen, the Knight, the Constable, the Herald, the Page and the Dwarf, all have diagrams below the figures to indicate the power of the piece in moving or taking other pieces. The same figures and diagrams are shown on another board game, Loysel's Patent and Copyright Chivalric Game of Tournoy, advertised as winning Honourable Mentions at the Exhibitions held in Paris, 1855, and in London 1862. Loysel's game involved the use of a roulette wheel and a larger board, all contained in a box. A copy of the rules and the advertisement for his game are in the green catalogue entry.

Descriptive line

[*] Decorated board game

Labels and date

British Galleries:
This game is decorated with dense Gothic foliage, similar to that seen in Medieval tapestries. Each of the figures on the counters is wearing Medieval-style costume. This game may have belonged to the Prince of Wales, who was born in 1841. The Royal family helped to popularise such costume by holding a fancy dress ball in 1842. [27/03/2003]

Categories

Games

Collection code

FWK

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Qr_O78987
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