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Board game. The "Draughtboard"

Υ46, Ο-Ε33 - Ο-Ε36
Faience, Metal (Silver, Gold), Bone (Ivory), Stone (Rock crystal)
Mended and restored.
Draughtboard length: 96.5 cm. Draughtboard width: 55.3 cm. Height of pieces: 7-8.2 cm.
Knossos
Palace
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Middle Minoan ΙΙΙ - Late Minoan ΙA period.:
1700 - 1500 BC:
Gallery:
IV
Case:
39
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation
The "Draughtboard"
Description
Luxurious gaming board resembling a draughtboard. The original rectangular base of the game, probably of wood, has not survived; it may have formed the cover of a table or chest. The frame of the board is made of ivory plated with gold leaf and decorated with carved rosettes with rock-crystal inlays in their centres. The surface consists of rock-crystal plaques set into blue glass paste and silver foil, separated by ivory inlays. Four conical ivory objects, found just a few metres from the rest of the game, were probably the gaming pieces, as we see from their size, exactly matching the four large circles on the board. Similar games have been found in Egypt and the Near East, but none is as large and elaborate as the Knossos draughtboard. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly how it was played or if it had some special symbolism beyond the game. Its luxuriousness highlights the wealth of the palace of Knossos, the high living standards of its inhabitants and the artistic skill of the palace workshops.
Bibliography:
Dimopoulou, Ν. "Οι τέχνες". In S. Mandalaki and G. Rethemiotakis, Μινωικός κόσμος. Ταξίδι στις απαρχές της Ευρώπης, Heraklion, 2015, 177. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, N. Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου. Athens, 2005, 332-333. Evans, A. The Palace of Minos I, New York, 1921 [1964], 387-388, 470-484. Hillbom, N. Minoan Games and Game Boards. Lund, 2005, 201-265.
Author:
E. S.


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