Gamespiece, pearwood and gesso, Ulrich II Fugger of Augsburg, by an Unknown Master (Augsburg), Germany ca. 1530-1558

Turned pearwood games-piece, the obverse of which depicts a portrait of Ulrich II Fugger in coloured gesso. Ulrich is portrayed in three quarter profile, bearded and wearing a caul and brocaded gown. The reverse is finished with turned concentric rings.

Salting Bequest

Provenance: Spitzer Collection. Frédéric Spitzer (b. 1815; d. 1890) was born in Vienna, and settled in Paris in 1852. He amassed a large collection of works of art, which were housed in l'hotel de la rue Villejust, known as the Musée Spitzer. The collection was auctioned in Paris in 1893.
Provenance: Salting Bequest. George Salting (b. 1836; d. 1909), an Australian who settled in England, bequeathed a large collection of works decorative art to the Museum in 1909.

Historical significance: This portrait is based on a copy of a painting by Hans Maler zu schwarz of 1525. A gesso version exisits ay Welbeck Abbey.

This wooden medallion was almost certainly used as a games-piece. The depth of the turned wood border would protect the gesso portrait within during use. Games of skill such as chess and draughts with their chivalric and military associations had deep roots in patrician leisure, and Luxury boards and games-pieces became common possesions amongst the elite of Renaissance Europe. Probably produced in series, sets of such games- pieces comprised of perhaps thirty-two pieces, which have subsequently been split up and in part lost. It is likely that they were made in Augsburg in the mid-sixteenth century, copied from slightly earlier medals by Friedrich Hagenauer and others. Emminent personages such as Charles V or his brother Ferdinand are usually portrayed on this type of games-piece.

By an Unknown Master (Augsburg)

This wooden medallion was almost certainly used as a games-piece. The depth of the turned wood border would protect the gesso portrait within during use. Games of skill such as chess and draughts with their chivalric and military associations had deep roots in patrician leisure, and Luxury boards and games-pieces became common possesions amongst the elite of Renaissance Europe. The top of the games-piece depicts a portrait of Ulrich II Fugger a member of a prosperous mercantile dynasty.

A.517-1910