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A prisoner of War Domino bone box

DOMINO GAME. Napoleonic prisoner of War Domino bone box [circa 1802-1814]. Rectangular bone box on wooden structure (58 x 165 x 68 mm), with a sliding triangular lid framed by a cribbage board. It is decorated throughout with watercolor images on paper set beneath the original glass panels. The lid is composed of four bone-framed panels depicting men and women in period costume; six additional panels on the sides and ends of the box contain watercolors showing a basket of flowers, two hearts within a floral border, and four tropical scenes of a village with palm trees. Each bone panel is carved with toothed ornament and circular motifs. The box contains a set of 31 dominoes and a miniature dice, also hand-carved entirely from discarded bone. Some losses on the top and sides; one glass panel cracked.

One of these rare P.O.W. bone boxes, made by French sailors captured by the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and commonly known as travail de ponton, survives as a remarkable example of prisoner folk art. Between 1802 and 1814, thousands of French prisoners of war were detained in England, often on prison hulks (pontons) or in purpose-built depots, some for more than a decade. This long captivity provided ample time for the development of highly skilled craftsmanship in bone, wood, and straw.

Prison authorities generally encouraged such work: prisoners were permitted to create boxes, models, and other small objects to occupy their time productively. They were also allowed to sell these items to local townspeople during the weekly “Friday markets” held inside or near the prisons. The small income earned enabled them to purchase personal necessities and, crucially, bits of metal, nails, and wire that could be repurposed as makeshift tools, allowing the most talented artisans to carve remarkably intricate designs.

Most of the bone used for these objects came from beef and other animal bones supplied in the prisoners’ meagre rations. The delicate polychromy often seen on surviving pieces was likely produced with vegetable-based dyes or other simple, improvised pigments available within the prison.

A finely hand-carved piece of P.O.W. folk art.

References: Norman Cross Collection, Peterborough Museum (UK), the largest surviving Napoleonic P.O.W. depot collection, holding numerous examples of bone domino boxes, cribbage boxes, card cases, and gaming pieces. Historic Cards and Games: The Stuart and Marilyn R. Kaplan Collection, Christie’s, 2006 (for comparable P.O.W. boxes).

PRICE: CHF 3 500