An exceptionally interesting Renaissance gaming piece for trictrac, dated 1592 and depicting one of the most important political figures of the late 16th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Jan Zamoyski.
Trictrac was a board game popular at European courts, played with counters and dice on a board resembling that used for modern backgammon. Richly decorated pieces bearing portraits of rulers, military commanders and dignitaries served not only a practical purpose but also a representative one, combining the culture of courtly entertainment with portraiture and heraldry.
The obverse depicts a right-facing bust of Jan Zamoyski wearing richly decorated armour. The legend identifies him as Grand Chancellor of the Crown. The reverse features an elaborate heraldic composition with the Jelita coat of arms of the Zamoyski family, surmounted by a helmet and crest, together with Zamoyski’s title as Grand Hetman of the Crown.
Jan Zamoyski (1542–1605) was one of the most distinguished statesmen and military commanders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As Grand Chancellor of the Crown and Grand Hetman of the Crown, he played a crucial role in state affairs during the reigns of Stephen Báthory and Sigismund III Vasa. The inclusion of his portrait and coat of arms on a gaming piece testifies to the representative character of the original set and to Zamoyski’s exceptional position within the political culture of the period.
Comparable pieces combining portraits of Jan Zamoyski and King Stephen Báthory with their respective coats of arms are known from surviving Renaissance trictrac sets.
In Teka Zamojska of 1938, Marian Gumowski recorded two specimens dated 1592: one in the National Museum in Warsaw, possibly from the Potocki collection, and another in the collection of the Zamoyski Family Entail in Warsaw. Both are believed to have been destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising.
A rare and highly impressive relic of Polish courtly culture, combining the function of an everyday gaming piece with the portrait of one of the most powerful dignitaries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Obverse: bust of Jan Zamoyski, right
IOHANES DE ZAMOS-CIO R SVP CANCELO
Reverse: the coat of arms of the Jelita Zamoyski family, decorated with a helmet with a jewel
EXERCITVS GENERA-LIS CAPITANEVS 1593
Wood, diameter 42 mm, weight 8.74 g
