Roman Bone Gaming Dice

The Roman Empire, c. 100-300AD.

Magnificent Roman Legionary six-sided gaming dice modelled in bone, known in Latin as tesserea. Each die’s side is incised with the appropriate number of dots, which consist of a large outer ring and small central circle. Like modern dice, the numbers on opposing faces add up to seven. A special drill was used to produce the dots, and the grooves were filled with black wax to make them stand out more. Dice such as this one were carried all across the Roman Empire by traveling, marching legionnaires during the 100-300 AD. Small round boxes were used as throwing cups to prevent unfair manipulation of the dice. The Romans were very fond of playing with dice and various dice games were frequently played in taverns, military camps, streets and palaces. Playing dice games was particularly common at Saturnalia, the ancient Roman festival of Saturn starting 17th December. Several Roman emperors like Caligula and Commodus are known to have been inveterate players. A now-lost book 'De arte alae' (On the Art of Dice) was written by the fourth Roman Emperor Claudius.

Very good condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Surface scratches and light corrosion. Beautiful dark brown patina. Size approx. 1,0cm x 1,0cm.

Provenance: Swedish private collection.

For a similar examples see:

Die, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession Number: 97.4.117 (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547955)

Dice, The British Museum, Accession Number: 1900,0214.19 (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1900-0214-19)