Collection of Patrick J O'Rourke - Asian & World Coin

Lot 5718    Session 20 (7.30pm Friday 25 November)    Collection of Patrick J O'Rourke - Asian & World Coins

Estimate $100
Bid at live.noble.com.au

CHINA, Mahjong game, a complete collection with instructions, containing 144 tiles and other pieces on placed on trays and stored within a leather box with handle, as produced by Frank Buckler on Tottenham, London, c.first half of the 20th century. Very fine or better. (lot)

Mahjong is a game that originated in Qing Empire. It is commonly played by 4 players (with some 3-player variations found in South Korea and Japan). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have a small following in Western countries. Similar to the Western card game rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance. The game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although some regional variations use a different number of tiles. In most variations, each player begins by receiving 13 tiles. In turn players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the 14th drawn tile to form 4 groups (melds) and a pair (head). There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, how a piece is stolen from another player and thus melded, the use of simples (numbered tiles) and honors (winds and dragons), the kinds of melds, and the order of dealing and play. However, there are many regional variations in the rules; in addition, the scoring system and the minimum hand necessary to win varies significantly based on the local rules being used.