Vintage Damascus Style Multi-Wood Inlaid Marquetry Backgammon Board Box. Covered in intricate geometric patterns, the foldout box serves two games, with the exterior designed for chess and the interior configured for backgammon. Similar sets often originate from Syria or Lebanon in the mid 20th Century, and usually include mother-of-pearl inlays alongside the various wood types. No pieces inside this box. 

Size: 19 1/2 x 20 x 1 1/2 in. 

Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice, the most widespread Western member of the large family of table games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Persia. Backgammon utilizes contrary movement in which each player has fifteen pieces known traditionally as men (short for “tablemen”), but increasingly known as “checkers” in the United States in recent decades, analogous to the pieces used by that game. The backgammon table pieces move along twenty-four “points” according to the roll of two dice, and the objective of the game is to move the fifteen pieces around the board and be first to bear off (remove them from the board). The achievement of this while the opponent is still a long way behind results in a triple win known as a backgammon, hence the name of the game, and whereas checkers is similar to chess in that it relies almost exclusively on strategy, backgammon adds an element of luck from the rolling dice into the game. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their pieces and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. This has led backgammon to be banned in some places as it was associated with gambling at times due to the inclusion of this random element, while chess and checkers are seen as more “proper” games due to the supposed intellectual superiority of simple memorization rather than knowing how to react in the moment, but it has also been a favorite of military strategists throughout history for this exact same reason. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.