the hinged circular top centering a beautifully inlaid checkboard on one side flipping to reveal an inlaid Parcheesi (Ludo) board on the reverse; raised in 4 dramatically incurved supports joined by a lower shelf fitted with a hidden compartment for game pieces; Parcheesi is based on Pachisi, originated in India around the 4th century A.D. Its popularity headed west in the 1860s, first traveling to England, which had taken over rule of India from the British East India Company in 1858, and then further into Europe.