The 28 playing pieces are hand-finished.
Dominoes are small tiles traditionally carved from ivory or bone with small, round pips of inset ebony. These tiles may be used to play many different games. Our name for these tiles may derive from this black on white look. 'Domino' is the French word for a Christian priest's winter hood which was black on the outside and white on the inside. 'Domino' is also a style of mask featuring a black and white motif. The oldest domino sets date from around 1120 A.D. Dominoes, as most of the Western world knows them, however, appear to be a Chinese invention. They were apparently derived from cubic dice, which had been introduced into China from India some time in the dim and distant past. Each domino originally represented one of the twenty-one results of throwing two dice. One half of the tile is set with the pips from one die and the other half contains the pips from the second die.
DIMENSIONS:
171x65x45mm (6.75x2.5x1.75")
ABOUT SCRIMSHAW:
First practiced by early nineteenth century whalers, scrimshaw is acknowledged today as the traditional folk art of the sea. In the days when sailors often spent years away from home, living hard and dangerous lives hunting for whales, relief from boredom and tension came from engraving illustrations on whalebone and walrus tusks - of ships, whale-hunts, favourite captains, places visited, copies of pictures from books and mythological figures. Reflecting their homesickness, these tough, uncouth sailors often etched incongruously tender images of their sweethearts or wives or flowers from the gardens at home. Twentieth century laws banning the barbaric trade in ivory products halted the art and have made original scrimshaw pieces sought-after collectors' items. The art of scrimshaw can again be appreciated by all, due to the development of a new polymer ivory. Engraving this man-made material has resulted in scrimshaw work that even experts have mistaken for genuine antique pieces worth hundreds of pounds.
This range of hand-cast, hand-finished polymer scrimshaw represents the very best in the re-discovery of this original art.
Delivery to: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark. France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
P+P ADDED AT CHECKOUT (Some non-uk destinations may require an additional delivery charge for heavier items).