Diligence spel 1842 - 1873

This is a game board made around the 1800s by Aron Hijman Binger, a playful tableau of 19th-century life. The central image is a horse-drawn carriage, a symbol of travel and commerce, linking various scenes and stages of a journey. This evokes the ancient motif of the ‘Ship of Fools’, where a journey becomes a metaphor for life's follies. Notice the recurrence of gates and thresholds - ‘Uitgaande Poort’, ‘Tolhek’, ‘Inkomende Poort’ - they mark transitions and boundaries. Gates appear in countless myths and rituals. From the gates of Ishtar to the gates of Paradise, they are the place of transformation, where one state is left behind and another begun. The 'Bedelaar' (beggar) and 'Kruier' (porter) represent the human condition. The game is not just a pursuit of leisure, but also a reflection on the unpredictability of life. The destination ‘Welkom in Stad’ (Welcome to the City) – offers a false promise of resolution. The cyclical progression of the game mirrors life itself, reminding us that we are all players in a larger, more complex game of chance and fate.