Gaming counter

Description

Carved bone playing counter depicting a crowned mermaid holding a fish in her right hand and her own tail in her left, 15th or 16th century, found during work near the Chapter House, Iona

Museum reference

H.NS 99

Object name

Gaming counter

Production information

Scotland, Northern Europe

Date

15th - 16th century

Materials

Bone

Physical description

Fair, chips to rim, chipping and a hole bored into the back.

Associations

Iona (Chapter House), Argyll, Scotland, Northern Europe

Exhibitions

• Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked (21 May 2010 - 12 Sep 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland
  Aberdeen Art Gallery
  Shetland Museum and Archives
  Museum nan Eilean

• Angels, Nobles and Unicorns: Art and Patronage in Medieval Scotland (12 Aug 1982 - 26 Sep 1982)
  Royal Museum of Scotland

References

Glenn, Virginia, Romanesque & Gothic: Decorative Metalwork and Ivory Carvings in the Museum of Scotland, NMSE Publishing, Edinburgh, 2003

Caldwell, D.H. (ed). Angels Nobles and Unicorns: Art and Patronage in Medieval Scotland. Edinburgh: NMS, 1982

On display

national museum of scotland »
level 1 »
scotland galleries »
kingdom of the scots »
na gaidheil