01 Painting, Middle East Artists, Abdelaziz Gorgi's CHKOBA PLAYERS; EVE OF RAMADAN, with Footnotes, #52

Abdelaziz Gorgi, 1928-2008

JOUEURS DE CHKOBA; VEILLÉE DU RAMADAN (CHKOBA PLAYERS; EVE OF RAMADAN), circa 1960-1969

Acrylic, gold leaf, ink and pen on paper

76 by 55cm.; 29 7/8 by 21 3/4 in.

Private collection

The chkobba is a card game drawn from the scopa and brought to Tunisia by Italian migrants.

It is played with traditional cards . The game is between two players or two teams of two players most often but it is possible, although infrequent, to play three or four independent players. 

Depending on the regions, provinces and even villages, the rules of the game and the counting of points vary. More on The chkobba

Abdelaziz Gorgi's oeuvre is a testament to a strong attachment to Tunisia, both in its form and practice.  As one of the founders and last president of the Ecole de Tunis, of whom he remained an active practicing artist alongside Jallal Ben Abdallah and Hedi Turki, Gorgi's paintings and tapestries are colourful, repeatedly featuring tokens such as 'chechias', the traditional Tunisian headgear or Chkoba, the traditional Tunisian card game, which both act to symbolize his personal background. Gorgi was also very active in encouraging the arts within his community, designing the first Tunisian postage stamp in 1956 and establishing the Tunis School of painting which he presided over until 1983. In 2000 his efforts were repaid when the Tunisian ministry of Culture announced that the country to be celebrating a ‘Gorgi Year’ of culture. More on Abdelaziz Gorgi

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