Chessmen (32) and board
Unknown
ca. 1860 · Silver, silver-gilt, sycamore and ebonized wood, brass · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
The pawns hold shields with heraldic arms on them indicating the opposing parties, but they do not appear to be valid. The set probably represents Rome against German tribes, but in a German style that has prototypes for the knights and kings in the seventeenth century, Here the figures have become wooden and lack subtlety in modeling. Such cast sets, however, were popular in the so-called "Historical period," around 1860.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- ca. 1860
- Medium
- Silver, silver-gilt, sycamore and ebonized wood, brass
- Culture
- German
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948
