A 19TH CENTURY ITALIAN PAINTED AND GILTWOOD 'BIRIBISSI' TABLE

the top painted with a Biribissi board, with a single drawer to one side, on tapering foliate carved legs, 52cm high x 72cm squared

Biribissi was an Italian game of chance, similar to roulette, popular in the 18th and early 19th century. The player places his stake onto one square, the banker then drawers from a bag containing counters representing all squares, if the banker drawers the same square as the stake, the player wins. If any other counter is drawn, the stake goes to the banker.