LOT 0099

Roman Nude Crouching Woman Gaming Piece

3RD CENTURY A.D.

1 1/8 in. (30.4 grams, 28 mm high).

A bronze figure or gaming piece of a nude female in crouching pose with hands placed on the hips, possibly giving birth; the hair shown drawn up in a bun, segmented armband to each upper arm.

Private Swiss collection, acquired 2002.

Cf. Rolland H., Bronze Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, p.102, no.188, for similar nude male figure.

The dice features six attitudes on which it could land when rolled, one of which includes the figure's head.
The earliest concrete historical evidence of games played with dice originated from ancient Egypt, circa 3000 B.C., although it is generally believed by historians that dice pre-dated the ancient Egyptian civilisation.
The Romans played two games using dice: Tali and Tesserae. The former originated in Greece and features four animal bones. The aim was to roll in such a way that each die displayed a different number-the higher the combined number, the greater the score. The latter was played using three dice, the goal being to roll triple six, or to achieve the highest combined numbers out of the contestants; it was a game of chance and the most common street and tavern gambling game in ancient Rome. ‘Dogs’ referred to poor scores and ‘Venus’ to high ones.
Roman players rolled dice from a special cup called a fritillium onto wood, bronze, or marble boards, depending on their class and wealth. Roman elites boasted ornate boards inscribed with their names. The gambling which ensued from dice games caused extreme social issues in Roman society, leading the government to eventually outlaw dice games, although these laws were largely ignored.