Die

Unknown

30 B.C.–A.D. 364 · White stone · Egyptian Art

Cubic dice have been in use in the Near East since the third millennium B.C., with different systems used at different times for distributing the points. In Egypt, examples dating to the New Kingdom are reported as isolated finds at el-Amarna, Lisht and Deir el-Bahri. The numbering of the opposite sides (1-6, 2-5, 3-4), each adding up to seven, comes into more general use only later, as reflected by this die. During the Greco-Roman period, cubic dice became more common and gradually replaced throwing sticks and knuckle bones for use with board games.

Artist

Unknown

Date

30 B.C.–A.D. 364

Medium

White stone

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910