“The Game of Chess”, Marcel Bruneri, France, 19th century.
There are many versions of the origin of this game, which has been played by people all over the world for many centuries and generations. The rules of the game have changed slightly since then, but the shape of the chess pieces has countless variations depending on the place and time of creation.
Often, sets of chess pieces were united by some theme: ancient novels and legends, fairy-tale and animal characters, the underwater world or historical events, in particular wars, which were reflected in the design of the warring parties: knightly tournaments, the Hundred Years’ War, battles of conquistadors with Indians, wars Upper and Lower Egypt.
Indian chess set in gold, decorated with champlevé enamel, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and agate, Jaipur, circa 1840 1880.The set contains 32 gold figures, 16 for each player. Each group consists of two standing male figures, two elephants, two horses, two camels and eight foot soldiers. The height of the largest is 5.7 cm.At the base of each figure is a miniature painted in gouache on ivory depicting architectural monuments and portraits of Mughal queens and princesses.Miniature chess table inlaid with ivory, tortoiseshell and horn, with a set of miniature ivory chess, height 22 cm, India, 19th century.Chess set made of rock crystal with gilding, height 4 8 cm, India, early 20th century.Muslim style chess set made of silver and brass in a lacquer box decorated with floral patterns, India, 19th century.Carved ivory chess set, height 14 25 cm, China, late 19th century. An interesting feature of the figures is a carved puzzle ball built into the base (solid openwork balls nested inside each other).Set of carved bone chess in the form of mice in a kimono, height 4 9 cm, Japan, late 19th century.Burmese carved ivory chess set, height 8 12.5 cm, circa 1850.Set of carved agate and heliotrope chessboards, early 20th century.German carved amber chess set, height 5 6 cm, Alfred Schlegge, early 20th century.Original set of Murano glass chess pieces in bottles, king height 11.7 cm, 20th century.Chess set Sea Life in Meissen porcelain, board side 52 cm, design by Max Esser, circa 1925.Set of carved chessboards Reynard the Fox made of ivory and wood, height 4 9 cm, Germany, 19th century.Kholmogory chess on the theme of the Russian Turkish wars and a walrus ivory box, late 18th century.Figurines on the theme of the Punic Wars Romans and Carthaginians, carved from ebony and ivory. The tallest chess piece is 8 cm high.One of the most expressive figures is Hannibal, leader of the Carthaginians.Silver chess set Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans on a board inlaid with Pietra Dura stone mosaics, Spain.Chess table with onyx top, set of Crusades pieces and two stools in gilded and silvered bronze, Giuseppe Vasari, Italy, 20th century.Crusaders – figures from the set, the height of the figures is from 10.8 to 14.6 cm.Saracens – figures from the set.Chess table on gilded metal legs with an assortment of pieces, board of alternating squares of maple and walnut with gilded metal border, height 77 cm, probably Germany, early 20th century.The figures in medieval costumes are made of gilded silver and decorated with precious stones, the tallest figure being 18.4 cm.Chess table with a set of pieces, created for the Paris Exhibition of 1867, height 78 cm, design by Albert Wilmes, Elkington & Co., Birmingham.The playing field is inlaid with ebony and ivory. The corner medallions contain enamel portraits of great commanders Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Tamerlane. and Napoleon Bonaparte.Thirty two chess pieces are made of silver with gilding and enamel.Ivory chess set on an unusual tapestry playing stand filled with sand, France, late 18th century.Chess players, Frederick Judd Waugh (1861 1940).French carved chess set in the form of ivory busts on the theme of the wars with the Ottoman Empire, height 6.4-9 cm, Dieppe, 19th century. Figures in red and white came into fashion in Europe at the end of the 18th century.Pietra Dura mosaic chess table on a metal stand, tiger eye, malachite, lapis lazuli, labradorite, sodalite, moss agate, rose quartz, zoisite, rhodonite, petrified wood, jasper, obsidian, rhodochrosite, height 77 cm, Florence.
