Bold Folk Art
5-Color
Parcheesi Gameboard   

Probably Northeast, ca. late 19th century.

The five colors (mustard, gold, red, teal, and green) on pine panel with varnished surface. The striking design is laid out via incised lines, with squares-within-a-square in each quadrant, led by arrows to the center, where their triangular sections converge to form another square, visually tying the four quadrants together.

The gameboard is thin and with chamfered edges. A frame is nailed onto the back. The gameboard itself is likely ca. 1870-1880. The applied frame-edge has slightly different color than the gameboard edge, and is attached via round-brads, so I believe the frame was added a bit later just to enable hanging.

The paints and over-varnish have shrunken over time to create an appealing crackled surface. As expected wear.

An appealing versatile smaller size of about 14 ¾ inches x 16. From a New York City collection.