Donated to the Museum in 1975, this domino set is typical of tourist souvenirs sold in Mexico. While serving as a souvenir, it is also a playable set. Dominoes are a very popular gambling activity for many people in Mexico and Mexicans who live elsewhere.
The set is contained in a wooden box. The box bottom 3.8cm long x 10.5cm wide x 3.3cm high. The sliding lid is 3cm long x 9.9cm wide x .5cm high, and is made of bone. The lid slides into 2 grooves cut into the top sides of the box bottom. The exposed top of the lid (as can be seen in the photograph) has a design carved into its surface and colorfully painted. The reverse side has no carving or color. Small cardboard pieces fit inside box to form a support for the tiles. The sides and bottom of the wooden box are stained and unmarked. There is no information about the artist of the design on the top, nor of the maker of the set. From information provided by the donor and others, this set is not a "one of a kind", but is the product of a small-scale industry in Mexico. Similar larger sized sets were also available at the time the donor purchased this set.
The box contains 28 bone tiles, each tile is 2.6cm long x 1.3cm wide x .3cm high. Each tile is divided in half on top by a line carved into the surface of the tile. On each half pips are carved into the surface and painted black, to represent a number from 1 to 6. Some halves are blank. The set is typical of most standard Western domino sets.
Last update February 4, 2010