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Gaming Board Inscribed for Amenhotep III with Separate Sliding Drawer

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
The game called senet, or “passing,” was played for over three thousand years in Egypt. In it, two players rolled stick-like dice to advance their gaming pieces, which in this board were otherwise stored in a sliding drawer. The movement of pieces across the board symbolized the soul’s journey through the underworld, and the game was often included in the tomb.
MEDIUM Faience
  • Reportedly From: Thebes, Egypt
  • DATES ca. 1390-1353 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 2 3/16 x 3 1/16 x 8 1/4 in. (5.5 x 7.7 x 21 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 49.56a-b
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Decorated blue faience gaming board with separate sliding drawer. Top of board divided into thirty compartments with dividing lines glazed black. Four squares inscribed with numerals and a nefer sign. Long sides decorate with painted design of seven panels, each with alternating ankh and ded signs. Solid end bears painted Horus name (Amenhotep III?) ‘beloved of Amon.’ Open end pierced twice on one side. Base glazed black. Ends of drawer glazed dark and light blue in checkerboard pattern. Base and interior of drawer glazed dark purple-blue. Front of drawer pierced with four small holes (for handle?); sides pierced three times and two times-purpose not evident. Condition: Object has been assembled from fragments. Extensive scattered areas of plaster restoration. The drawer was probably originally much longer. Glaze worn in spots. Numerous firing cracks.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
    CAPTION Gaming Board Inscribed for Amenhotep III with Separate Sliding Drawer, ca. 1390-1353 B.C.E. Faience, 2 3/16 x 3 1/16 x 8 1/4 in. (5.5 x 7.7 x 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 49.56a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 49.56a-b_view2_SL4.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 49.56a-b_view2_SL4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2014
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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