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This is a complete game of Marble Solitaire with a very good polished hand turned hardwood board and 33 early clay and stone marbles, all dating to the 19th century, Victorian period.

 

The board is a fairly large size a 9.4 inch diameter and is finely hand turned with good detail, made of well figured hardwood, possibly red walnut and sitting on three small bun feet. It has 32 equi-spaced holes with an additional one in the center and a gallery to the outer perimeter. This board is particularly good with a lovely mellow color, developed over many years of use and polishing. It comes complete with a full set of 33 ( 32 + one spare) early handmade playing marbles. Early marbles are very collectable in their own right and the marbles in this set vary slightly in size but are nominally about 0.6 inches in diameter. (Please see images). They are made from a mixture of materials and colors; stone, clay (earthenware) and possibly pottery. Popular in the court of Louis the XIV, the game was supposedly invented by a nobleman incarcerated in the Bastille in France during the 17th century and was popular in the court of Louis XIV. It is a challenging game for the fan of strategy and skill and became one of the more popular games of the last few 100 years. To play, place 32 marbles with one hole left unoccupied in the middle of the board. The objective is simply to remove all but one of the marbles by jumping one marble over another, similar to the game of Draughts. The marble jumped is removed to the gallery around the side of the board. We date this item to the 19th century Victorian period, circa 1880.

 

This piece displays very well on a table and would make a great decorator piece!

 

  • Dimensions: 

    Height: 1.6 in (4.07 cm)Diameter: 9.4 in (23.88 cm)

  • Condition: 

    Wear consistent with age and use. Good antique condition. Only slight wear to the board and wear to the marbles from use, as expected. The marbles are all hand made and are not perfectly spherical and some have tiny nibbles and marks.

Marble Solitaire Fine Hardwood Board with 33 Clay and Stone Marbles, Late 19th C

SKU: O 295
£410.00Price
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