Ceramic Gaming Piece

Unknown

11th–14th century · Stonepaste; glazed · Islamic Art

Caliphal decrees prohibited the playing of chess (the pieces of which are customarily figural) for iconoclastic reasons as early as the eighth century. It is likely that chess pieces of the abstract type, such as this one, replaced the figural ones in order to circumvent those decrees.

Artist

Unknown

Date

11th–14th century

Medium

Stonepaste; glazed

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1974