Game Piece with the Blinded Samson Led by a Boy to the Philistine Temple of Dagon

Unknown

ca. 1150 · Walrus ivory · The Cloisters

Numerous Romanesque playing pieces were produced in Cologne, a thriving center of ivory carving. This example illustrates a boy leading the blinded Samson to the pillars of the Philistine temple of Dagon. It would have been one of a set of fifteen pieces in a board game similar to backgammon, engaging an equal number of pieces displaying the feats of Samson and of Hercules.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1150

Medium

Walrus ivory

Culture

German

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1988