Hans Kels d. Ä. | 1537 datiert
The playing surface is made of two hinged wooden boards that can be folded together. The outsides have a systematic genealogical and heraldic programme glorifying Emperor Charles V and his brother King Ferdinand I (emperor from 1558). The side depicted shows in the middle an equestrian portrait of Ferdinand I, probably also the owner of the board, surrounded by four medallions. Carved in fine miniatures top and bottom left are the youthful portraits of his maternal grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic, and his father-in-law King Ladislas of Poland. At the top right is the portrait of his maternal great-grandfather Charles the Bold, and below that his brother-in-law King Louis of Hungary. In the small corner medallions are the rulers of the four great world monarchies: Ninus of Assyria, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great of Greece and Romulus the founder of Rome. The AF monogram relates to Ferdinand and his wife Anne. On each inner side of the board, the six object shapes needed to play trictrac are shown in expensive inlay work. The border of the playing board takes the form of exquisite carved tendril decoration with birds and beasts plus medallions with mythological scenes of the moralising kind favoured by Boccaccio. They relate to the illustrations on the 32 playing pieces. The board was possibly designed by Augsburg-based Jörg Breu the Elder (c. 1475 - 1537) or his similarly named son (1510 - 1547).