Spanish, Andalusia, 16th century

Ernst Paul Caesar Heinrich Proehl (1885-1973) and Julia Ilse Schwarz (1883-1977), Amsterdam, Netherlands;
thence by family descent 

Overall the condition of the games board is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. It is possible that the ivory and ebony inlaid chevron border around the edges could be an old restoration, i.e. circa 19th century. There has been some minor warping to the wood which has caused some splits, in particular to one of the sides of the chessboard, which has slightly open joints, some of which have been filled with wax. There is minor stable splitting to the wood and ivory, consistent with the materials, in particular to the wood inlay on both sides of the backgammon board. There are various very minor stable splits elsewhere. There have been some small losses to the inlay decoration, including to some of the minute intarsia panels on the chessboard and the backgammon board; many of these have been filled with wax. There are a few small losses to the border decoration at the sides. There are a few areas of painted and wax restoration to the intarsia at the edges of the board. One of the intarsia panelled bordering of the chessboard has been replaced with a panel of four quadrons of ivory and ebony. Several other areas of the borders have been replaced with either wood or wax. There are two wax-filled sections to the back sides of the board. The hinges are probably original. There are small original holes to the border of the backgammon board for gaming pieces. There are two holes to the front side for a missing clasp. There is some yellow staining to the ivory on the chessboard. There are some light marks to the interior sides of the backgammon board.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This exquisite games board is part of a small group of Southern Spanish 16th-century gaming boxes. These include a very similar example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 154-1900); another exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (von Seipel, op. cit., pp. 99-100, no. 23); and one sold in these rooms on 24 October 2007, lot 158 for £144,500. The intarsia and micromosaic technique, which is superb in its virtuoso execution, particularly in the central foliate panels, has long been connected with Islamic techniques which developed in Spain and Northern Africa in Muslim workshops during the Ummayyad period, exemplified by the 12th-century minbar of the Kutibiye Mosque in Marrakesh (made in Cordoba). The eight-pointed star seen in repeat on the present board is seen frequently in Nasrid inlay, underscoring the connection between the group of games boards and Islamic culture in Southern Spain at the end of the 15th century. Von Seipel, however, discusses the possible influence of North Italian certosina wood intarsia, known from objects manufactured by Baldassare Ubriachi in Florence or Venice towards the close of the 14th century. In the cataloguing for the Victoria and Albert Museum example, the museum considers the existence of an early 14th-century games board with geometrical inlay, formerly in the collection of Emperor Ferdinand II, and believed to have been made in Venice, as a possible indicator that such boards may have been North Italian 'luxury product(s)' and the concept and technique was subsequently dispersed to the South of Spain in the 16th century (op. cit.). The presence of traces of vellum from a 15th-century printed psalter used as an underlay support the dating of the group to the 16th century in Christian Spain after the fall of Granada.

The present games board is a rare example of virtuoso Spanish Renaissance inlay in a very good state of conservation and with distinguished provenance. Like the Victoria and Albert Museum example, the interior is laid out with a backgammon board, with small pierced holes for markers about the rim, whilst the exterior bears a chessboard.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. D. Dodds, Al-Andalus, The Art of Islamic Spain, New York, 1992; M. Rosser-Owen. Islamic Arts from Spain, London, 2010, p. 89.; W. von Seipel, Spielwelten der Kunst. Kunstkammerspiele: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Milan, 1998, cat. no. 24; http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O134094/games-board-and-unknown/ [accessed 24 May 2017]