The Scagliola table

 
                                                    
Some years ago this item appeared in the Peterborough column of the Daily Telegraph

"Wages of Sin"

At the Callaly castle sale in
Northumberland tomorrow ,
Christies expects an early 18th
century Scagliola table with a
macabre history to fetch
between £30,000 and £40,000.
It's flat black top depicts the
aftermath of a card game. Four
hands of cards can be identified.
They lie scattered, some of
them torn, together with a
fob watch and a signet ring.
There is a tradition in the
family of the owner of Callaly,
Major Simon Browne, that the
table represents the last game
played by a member of the
D'Aeth family, during which he
staked his entire estate on a
single hand.
His own hand consists of the
ace of diamonds, ace of clubs,
six and seven of clubs. But the
hand of the banker at the head
of the table caps it: ace of
spades, ace of hearts, king of
clubs and six of diamonds.
The ruined gambler it is said,
tore two of his cards in half,
threw down his fob and signet
ring, went upstairs and shot
himself."
(DT 21/09/86)


Comment:
The game was clearly Primero which was played in England from about 1532 up until the 1740s.
The most striking detail is the losing hand. Under Italian rules as described by Cardano (1565), the seven six and ace of clubs would have made a special 3 card flush called "Gobbo" worth 55 points ( 21+18 +16), beaten only by Four of a kind called a "Chorus". Yet we are told in no uncertain terms that this player lost ! (he went upstairs and shot himself).

The hand must therefore have been played under the alternate Spanish rules for Primero which were also popular in England at the time and were described by Joseph Strutt in his 18th century compendium on games "Sports and Pastimes of the English People".

Under the alternate Spanish rules for Primero, an ace counts for only 15 points not 16, and a six is worth only 16 points not 18, which reduces the loser's hand of seven six ace of clubs to an ordinary 3 card flush or "Point" of 52 (21+16+15) . The Spanish game also counted the jack of hearts as a "Quinola" or joker which can duplicate or assume the value of any card. (All other court cards were nulls)

What is so special about the winning hand - ace of spades ace of hearts king of clubs and six of diamonds ? The answer is that the four cards are of four different suits, which makes it a "Prime" which beats any ordinary 3 card flush . In this instance the Prime is worth only 46 points (15+15+0+16), but it beats the 3 card Point of 52.

One could speculate that the unlucky loser only bet so high (his whole estate) because he was confused as to which rules, Spanish or Italian, were in use at the table. One can only imagine the recriminations that ensued when he discovered everyone else was following Spanish rules.

The two cards torn in half were most likely the seven and six of clubs. Had these been any value of Hearts or Spades respectively , then the hand would have been a Prime; had they been the other two aces, he would have won with four aces. Both players had originally bet and drawn to a pair of aces .

Footnote -
Scagliogla tables of this type were highly sought after by young English Gentlemen on 'Grand Tours' of of the Continent  from the late 17th century onwards and there are numerous examples of them in various collections. Tuscany in Italy was a major centre of manufacture. The Scagliola table pictured at the top of the post  is of a different design from the one referred to in the text. It dates from around 1680 and is  attributed to the craftsman Laurentius Bonuccelli and shows  the cards from a game of Piquet rather than Primero. (You can tell from the presence of  8, 9 & 10 spot cards which don't exist in the 40 card Primero pack.)