Northern Italy, Lombardy-Veneto, first half of the 18th century. Extremely rare manuscript game by Cavagnole, composed of 12 cards (numbered from 1 to 240) illustrated in watercolour and mounted on thin cardboard (270x205 mm), preserved in a contemporary cardboard box. Some cards show slight signs of use, but overall the state of preservation is very good. On the spine each card is covered with beautiful paper decorated with coloured flowers.

Originating in Genoa, Cavagnole (also known as Biribi or Biribissi) spread in the French aristocratic salons starting in 1735, becoming particularly popular among the ladies of the court, such as Queen Maria Leszczynska. The game, gambling but simple, involved the random extraction of numbers to determine the winners among the participants, without a fixed banker.

This example, probably made around the mid-1700s, is decorated with miniatures depicting scenes of daily life, trades, regional costumes, animals, allegories, classical myths, etc. The cards, numbered and finely hand-painted, reflect the aesthetics and themes of the aristocratic taste of the 18th century. An exceptionally rare object, of great historical and artistic value.