1834

CAMEROUN: LOT of 8 pieces of "dice money"

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:70.00 USD Estimated At:75.00 - 125.00 USD
CAMEROUN: LOT of 8 pieces of  dice money
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CAMEROUN: LOT of 8 oval-shaped pieces of "dice money" made in the 19th century from elma tree nuts (30-40mm in length), Opitz p.131, all polished smooth and decorated with a variety of objects and animals (bird, beetle, turtle, fish, human, shields etc.), lovely dark red & brown color, VF-EF, ex Charles Opitz Collection. These pieces were used in the 19th century in a popular gambling game, which the German colonial authority considered dangerous to the natives. Artists caught creating the dice were punished by hanging.