Renaissance Game Board, South Germany, Circa 1580.

Very rare Renaissance game board, South Germany, circa 1580. Hinged case in ebonized walnut. On the outside, the chess and fortune house boards have finely carved floral decorations and are framed with delicate bands of flames. The interior features a backgammon board with finely carved contours and a well-preserved white color. The boards have age-related cracks in places, and some have slight worm damage. The iron lock is a spring-lever; the locking tongue is missing. Dimensions: 37.8cm x 34cm x 10cm. A RARE antique game board which, unlike the more common later combination of chess, Morris and backgammon, features the fortune game instead of Morris. This late medieval game, also known as "Landsknecht roulette," fell into disuse around 1600 and is therefore only found on a few early game boards. In the Glückshaus, sums of money were placed on the squares numbered two to twelve, and then two dice were thrown. The Bavarian National Museum collection has a game board from the Glückshaus dating from 1583.