Chessmen (32) and box

Unknown

ca. 1885 · Olive wood, leather, glass · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This set was the prize at a chess tournament between the cities of Aachen and Leipzig in 1887. The glass-topped box has a paper label reading: "Zur Erinnerung an die 3 Schachparthien zwischen Aachen & Leipzig vom 16/11 84 - 9/8 85" [In memory of three chess matches between Aachen and Leipzig from November 16, 1884, to August 9, 1885]. The winner of the matches was Leipzig. Germany produced a number of these elegantly made chess sets, usually of wood, but occasionally of ivory. Even more fragile chessmen were made in Denmark. A set in the Danish Museum of Industrial Art has "crow's nests" of lacy forms and twisting stems of triple "threads." A peculiarity with the knight is the development of two addorsed horse heads, a form that goes back to the early seventeenth century. In some sets there is nothing to indicate that the piece is associated with a horse, and it is distinguished by an incomplete ruff, or a cut aslant. This design occurs as early as the 17th century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1885

Medium

Olive wood, leather, glass

Culture

German

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948