Antique Wood Game Box Nine Men’s Morris Board Parquetry Puzzle Drawers Masonic

Description: Item: Rare, one of a kind (handmade), antique parquetry (inlaid wood veneer) games box with two drawers and the top being a Nine Men’s Morris game board. It’s an interesting piece, almost like a puzzle box because if you didn’t know to push down on the hard to notice wood tabs, you’d never figure out how the drawers are supposed to open. There’s something written on the bottom which looks like “MEDN FRANCK” and “1911”. I can tell from the patina on the bottom that this is a very old item, but I’m unsure if it was made in 1911 (it looks older to me) or someone just wrote that when they acquired it, or what have you. Sotheby’s auction sold a games board with Nine Men’s Morris on the top for 601,250 GBP. That’s a lot of money, right? But, that one was from the 1600’s and had more going on. Provenance: Neri Antiques, South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PLEASE SEE MY OTHER EBAY LISTINGS FOR A NICE SELECTION OF ART, ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES !! Note: The history of this game goes back to ancient Egyptian times. I don't think it's a coincidence that the maker of this item used veneer pieces of different colors to reveal the shape of a pyramid with an all seeing eye on top (no matter which side you're looking at it from). It's very possible that this antique game box / board was made by a Mason and/or for someone in the Masonic Lodge. Background: In some countries in Europe, they consider the Nine Men’s Morris board design as a symbol for ‘protection from evil’. Usually, I can find just about anything on eBay (!), but I looked and there are no other antique Nine Men’s Morris boards or game boxes (as of this writing). I saw one that sold on eBay, though, but it was a folk art or primitive one. The item offered here looks like it was made by a professional craftsman. There’s no way it was ‘manufactured’. I think it was made for using in the home library or den, and it would fit in among the other nice items in the house, like upscale furniture or beautiful oriental carpets. In modern times, I could picture this piece in a ‘man cave’ with a sort of British pub theme whereas players could have a game of wits as they enjoyed a couple ales. Like chess, Nine Men’s Morris is a game of strategy, for two players. Apparently, the game was first referred to, in writing, as ‘Nine Men’s Morris’ by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Price: 695 USD

Location: Pitman, New Jersey

End Time: 2025-01-27T18:23:26.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD