Domino Set thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at Young V&A
Play Gallery, the Arcade, Case 1

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Domino Set

ca. 1800 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The game of Dominoes is belived to have been invented in China in the 3rd century and introduced into Europe by the explorer Marco Polo. Like many other games, Dominoes was popular in both Italy and France before spreading through mainland Europe to England.

The principle behind Dominoes where cards, small bars or tiles must be arranged into sequences, was used as a foundation for various different games. Many of these were produced, particularly in the 19th century, for both children and families to play with. This is an early set and its tiles are unusual in that the spots go up to nine rather than the usual six.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Dominoes
  • Display Arrangement
Materials and techniques
Lacquered wood
Brief description
Boxed set of dominoes made in England about 1800
Physical description
Lacquered wooden box with sliding lid decorated on all four sides and the lid which shows a seated woman and two children playing. There are fifty-one dominoes in total, comprising two different sets. One has twenty-seven and is made of wooden bases and bone tops held together with metal pins. The spots on this set go up to nine. The second set is of inferior quality, being of wood with one surface painted. There are twenty-four of these and they follow the more usual design of a six spot maximum.
Dimensions
  • Box length: 14.7cm
  • Box width: 10.7cm
  • Box height: 5.9cm
Dominoes dims for each of the 2 sets are as follows: painted wood set: 44x20x6mm; set with bone: 42x21x9mm
Credit line
Given by Mrs Henton
Summary
The game of Dominoes is belived to have been invented in China in the 3rd century and introduced into Europe by the explorer Marco Polo. Like many other games, Dominoes was popular in both Italy and France before spreading through mainland Europe to England.

The principle behind Dominoes where cards, small bars or tiles must be arranged into sequences, was used as a foundation for various different games. Many of these were produced, particularly in the 19th century, for both children and families to play with. This is an early set and its tiles are unusual in that the spots go up to nine rather than the usual six.
Collection
Accession number
MISC.80-1963

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Record createdJanuary 27, 2004
Record URL
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