M. G. - Board game - Giuoco della Barca - Wood

Game of the Boat - Silkscreen on Wood by Master Geppetto, Turin - 1960-1980

Description:

Fascinating screen-printed game board on poplar plywood, signed by the Turin craftsman Master Geppetto, depicting the famous "Giuoco della Barca"—one of the oldest and most fascinating gambling games of the medieval European tradition, still today the subject of historical studies and collectible interest.

Dimensions: 50 x 70 cm Support: Poplar plywood, 1 cm thick

Technique: artistic screen printing on wood, subsequently varnished.

Condition: Good, varnish intact Signature: "Serigrafato Mastro Geppetto - Torino"

Dating: Last quarter of the 20th century (ca. 1960–1980)


The Boat Game: A Masterpiece of Medieval Ludology

The Boat Game—known in Germany as "Glückshaus" ("House of Happiness")—is one of the longest-running gambling games in European history. Originating in the 15th–16th centuries, it spread quickly among German mercenaries and innkeepers before reaching Italy, where it took on a unique and distinctive iconographic configuration.

Unlike the original Germanic version (which represented a 'house' with 'rooms'), the Italians reinterpreted the game by incorporating nautical symbolism, turning the concept into a central boat surrounded by numbers.
This semantic transformation became so ingrained in Italian gaming culture that, during the 20th century, the colloquial expression "to make/win a boatload of money" entered the language — a saying still used today to indicate an extraordinary win or a large financial fortune.
The phrase derives directly from the maximum outcome of the game: when the roll of the two dice yields 12 (the 'King'), the player conquers all the coins on the board, including those of the emblematic central boat.

Game Mechanics: Simplicity and Charm

Il Giuoco della Barca embodies medieval ludic perfection: simple rules, outcomes entirely governed by chance, and a constant psychological tension. Two six-sided dice determine the outcome of each turn:

Normal numbers (3-6, 8-11): the player places a coin on the corresponding square, or collects a coin if it is already present.

Number 2 (the 'Fortuna Reversibile'): allows you to collect all the coins in the circle, except those of the central boat.

Number 7 (the 'Wedding/Marriage'): the player must place a coin on the boat—never withdraw it.

Number 12 (the "King"): the maximum win—the player acquires all the coins present, including the valuable ones on the boat

This probabilistic structure creates a fascinating balance between statistical luck (7 is the most frequent number with two dice, so the center of the boat fills constantly) and the exceptional nature of a total victory (12, statistically rare).


Mastro Geppetto: Torinese artisanal excellence

The panel comes from the renowned Mastro Geppetto workshop, a Turin-based woodcraft company that embodies a tradition of over sixty years of craftsmanship.
Recognized by the brand "Piemonte Eccellenza Artigiana," the company is known for producing wooden toys, chess sets, and 100% Made in Italy silkscreens.

Mastro Geppetto's choice to reproduce the Giuoco della Barca during the period of the ludic revival in the 1950s–70s of the 20th century testifies to a sensitivity toward preserving Italy's cultural heritage of play—a gesture of reverence toward medieval and Renaissance tradition.

Collecting Interest and Cultural Value

This board represents a fascinating crossroads of collecting factors:

Ludological: Direct testimony of a gaming tradition spanning almost 600 years, documented in museums and university collections.

Artisanal: Produced by renowned Turin master craftsmen, custodians of Italy's tradition of manufacturing excellence.

Historian: A visual representation of a cultural transition—from the German 'House of Happiness' to the Italian 'Boat,' symbol of the Italianization of the game

Linguistic-Cultural: Tied to an Italian idiom that is still very much alive today ("make a boatload of money").

Aesthetic: A circular composition of extraordinary visual impact, suitable for collectors of vintage design, historical games, and European craftsmanship

The panel is ideal for collectors of antique board games, historians of ludology, enthusiasts of Italian craftsmanship, researchers of cultural traditions, or as a decorative piece of great historical refinement and formal beauty.

Dimensions and Usability

The generous dimensions (50 x 70 cm) make this board a genuine expression of how the game was actually enjoyed in its historical context, offering the contemporary collector a tangible immersion into the history of European leisure.

A rare item on the collectibles market, it represents an opportunity for those seeking authenticity, historical-cultural significance, and artisanal craftsmanship in a single work.

Fast and very well packed with polystyrene foam and/or bubble wrap, and shipped with tracking and insurance through the best shipping agencies.
The shipping cost includes shipment tracking, packaging material, and insurance for the artwork.
Due to customs and duties issues, we do not ship to the U.S.A.
Corsica to be agreed upon.
This research was also conducted with the help of Artificial Intelligence. (Data was verified and compared with images and web searches.)