Song Dynasty Tile of Wéiqí Board Game Players, China (3346BKE) $485

$485.00

H: 11”  W: 9.5”  D: 2” | FREE SHIPPING

As part of the The Song dynasty cultural expansion, government and public buildings and tombs were built with interior walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold-made brick tiles.  This fanciful vibrant tile with a scalloped frame  portrays two people wéiqí which originated in China over 2500 years ago and is the world’s oldest ( and most complex) board game still played.

Description

The Song dynasty (960–1279) is considered the most culturally brilliant era in later imperial Chinese history. A massive expansion produced government and public buildings and tombs with walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold-made brick tiles.  Some were purely decorative and others  were wishes for happiness and comfort in the  deceased’s  afterlife called mingqi. With a deep scalloped frame centered by an elegant pointed Indian ogee arch, this amusing tile shows two people engrossed in the Chinese board game wéiqí. The artisan created illusion of perspective by placing the table at an acute angle with the players in a deep receding space in front of low reliefs on the wall behind them. The player on the right turns his head and looks at us as if to say, “look at my brilliant move.”  Wéiqí, which originated in China more than 2500 years ago (Japanese name is Go), is the world’s oldest board game still played and was one of the Four Scholarly Pursuits in ancient Chinese times. The object is to control a larger portion of the board than one’s opponent by moving stone pieces (plastic today) on a grid to surround and capture opponent’s pieces while strategically balancing defensive and offensive moves. Although it has simple rules, it is more complex than chess as the board is larger, there are many more decisions to consider for each move and the game takes longer to complete. As many such tiles, it is in good to fair condition as most buildings containing them were built using ancient un-reinforced mud/brick construction subject to disasters like earthquakes, floods and wars. Little of its original light slip and polychrome remain. The right person’s face was re-glued, and a corner is chipped. Nonetheless, it retains in quaint charm over the centuries.

Additional information

Weight 12 lbs
Dimensions 18 × 12 × 6 in
Place of Origin

China

Period

Ancient, Song Dynasty

Date

960-1127

Materials and Technique

Earthenware

Dimensions (inches)

Ht: 11" W: 9. 5" D: 2"

Dimensions (metric)

Ht: 27.94cm W: 24.13cm D: 5.08cm

Weight

7 lbs

Condition

Good condition with repairs, see description

Reference Number

3346BKE

Shipping Box Size