Chessmen (32)

Mrs. Ruth Mielziner Moss

1945 · Porcelain · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The set expresses the artist's idea that animals resemble people. Accordingly, the lion and lioness represent the king and queen, owls the bishops, horses' heads the knights, and sea shells, in which shell fish live, the rooks. The artist believes that most people are pawns, and sheep seemed to her to be symbolic of their status.

Artist

Mrs. Ruth Mielziner Moss

Date

1945

Medium

Porcelain

Culture

American, Cleveland, Ohio

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948