Antique Song Tile of Board Game Players, China (3346BKE)

Description

During the Song Dynasty earthenware unglazed brick tiles made using a mould were produced to decorate inner chamber walls of tombs and government and public buildings. Used as funerary decorations to wish the deceased happiness and comfort in their afterlife, these Song Brick Tiles are another example of a mingqi ancestral item. This tile has a deep scalloped frame with an elegant pointed Indian ogee arch at the top center. The tile depicts players on a low  kang table playing the Chinese board game wéiqí.  The illusion of deep perspective is created in several ways: the lower frame is in front of two steps below the tables end; the table is at an acute angle that appears to hold the players in a receding space; one player’s legs are outside the end of the board; the area underneath and behind the players is deeply cutting; and the low reliefs on the wall behind them finish the appearance of deep space. 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. The right person’s face was re-glued and a corner is chipped. Broken in places, portions are restored as is common for these brick tiles. It is otherwise in fair/good condition considering most buildings containing them were built using ancient traditional un-reinforced mud/brick construction subject to disasters like earthquakes, floods and wars. This is part of the VA Antique-Chinese-Ceramics-and-Pottery Collection.