古罗马人 玻璃 玻璃游戏计数器 / 游戏圆盘 - 23 mm (没有保留价)

Ancient Roman Glass Gaming Counters / Playing Discs

Culture / Period: Ancient Roman
Date / Period: 1st–2nd century A.D.
Material: Glass
Dimensions: 17–23 mm
Condition: Good condition. Three complete examples with attractive burial patina and surface weathering.

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Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 189

The current owner purchased the Ancient Roman Glass Gaming Counters / Playing Discs from a private collector, N.N. in Drunen.

The previous owner, a private collector, N.N. from Drunen (the Netherlands), stated that the objects had been in his collection since the 1990s.

According to the previous owner, the objects had previously been in a private collection in the Netherlands since the 1980s.

No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the objects was available from the previous owner.

Background Information:

This group consists of three Roman glass gaming counters, dating to the Early Imperial period. Such counters were widely used throughout the Roman Empire for board games, counting activities, and recreational pastimes enjoyed by both adults and children. Examples have been recovered from military forts, urban settlements, villas, bathhouses, and roadside taverns, demonstrating the popularity of gaming across all levels of Roman society.

Roman gaming pieces were produced in a variety of materials, including glass, stone, bone, ceramic, and metal. Glass examples were particularly valued for their bright colours and smooth surfaces. The present group displays three distinct forms and colours, illustrating the diversity of Roman glass production. The opaque white counter and the darker example retain attractive burial surfaces, while the mottled specimen exhibits striking weathering patterns created by centuries of chemical interaction between the glass and its burial environment.

Glassmaking was one of the most advanced industries of the Roman world. Workshops throughout the empire manufactured both utilitarian and decorative objects in enormous quantities. Raw glass and finished products were traded across vast distances, reaching regions from the eastern Mediterranean to Britain and the northern frontier provinces. The production of gaming counters formed part of this highly organised manufacturing tradition.

Board games occupied an important place in Roman daily life. Literary sources, mosaics, and archaeological discoveries attest to the widespread enjoyment of strategy games and counting games among soldiers, merchants, travellers, and citizens. Gaming counters such as these would have been handled repeatedly during play, making them intimate objects closely connected to everyday social interaction.

Examples of this type are regularly found in Roman archaeological contexts and provide valuable insight into the leisure activities of the ancient world. Their simple yet functional design reflects the practical nature of Roman material culture, where even small personal objects were carefully crafted and widely distributed through imperial trade networks.

Dating to the height of the Roman Imperial period, these gaming counters provide a direct and tangible connection to the people of antiquity, for whom such objects formed part of everyday recreation and social life throughout the Roman world.