Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A heavy silver knucklebone, made to be thrown like modern-day dice in order to determine how each player would move their pieces on the board. The grooves and crevices of the "bone" are anatomically-similar to those in the human hand, and can land on one of four sides when tossed. This piece, along with four others, would have been used to play the Roman game Tali, which was descended from the Egyptian game Senet. Men used these knucklebones like dice, whereas women used them to foretell their fates. This silver example would have come from a very fine set - most knucklebones are made of glass or bronze. Size: 1.3" W x 0.85" H (3.3 cm x 2.2 cm); 57.6 grams

For information on how to play the older version of Tali, known as Senet, please see: http://www.cs.brandeis.edu/~storer/JimPuzzles/GAMES/Senet/Senet.pdf

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection acquired before 2000

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#122365

Dark patina and wear on surface.