"Actaeon" Game Piece
"Actaeon" Game Piece
$580.00
17thcentury German boxwood game piece for backgammon or checkers.
55 x 13 mm.
One side shows the “Transformation of Actaeon” from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Here, the hunter Actaeon surprises Diana and nymphs bathing in the river. Embarrassed, she turns him into a stag and subsequently, he is killed by his own hounds. FAC LATEAS ET TVTVS ERIS(Take heed and conceal thyself and thou shalt be safe)
The reverse scene shows a tailor measuring a lady as Cupid approaches carrying a bolt of fabric and scissors. Above: O MI CHARE SARTOR! QVALIS HIC EST ARDOR! (Oh my beloved tailor! This is what zeal!)MB signature below his left foot- Martin Brunner(1659-1725)