Pearls of Wisdom: The Arts of Islam at the University of Michigan

This small bone piece was carved on a lathe. It is impossible to determine with certainty its function, however. Perhaps it served as a decorative element for a wooden object, such as a cabinet or window grille. Alternatively, it may have been part of a chess set, a highly popular board game in the Islamic world.

Bibliography: Rodziewicz 2012, 7–9, 20–22, pls. 28 and 93–95; Bacharach and Rodenbeck 2002, 84; Jenkins 1986, 52; and Ekhtiar et al. 2011, 112.