Pair of Dice
Culture: Roman
Date: 1st-4th century A.D.
Medium: Bone
Dimensions:
each: 3/8 × 3/8 × 3/8 in. (0.9 × 0.9 × 0.9 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number: 86.138.494
Provenance: By purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest, the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1965; by purchase, the San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986
Label Text
Game players used six-sided dice as early as the seventh century B.C.; as on modern dice, the spots on opposite sides add up to seven. Bone dice like these were common throughout the Roman Empire. They were used in dice games, in which players tried to roll a desired combination of spots, and in board games similar to backgammon.
(Jessica Powers, 2018)
(Jessica Powers, 2018)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
