Chess set - Wood

Museum-grade hand-carved chess set

– Noble woods Rosewood & Zebrawood – circa mid-20th century. 20th century.

For sale is an exceptional, fully handcrafted antique chess set with an elaborately inlaid wooden chessboard, made from noble woods (according to manufacturer: rosewood and zebrawood).

This ensemble comes from a private collection and is estimated to be at least about 60 years old.

Artisanal craftsmanship

The 32 chess pieces are all hand-carved and show remarkable attention to detail. Notably expressive faces and individually designed costumes, indicating high-quality artisanal craftsmanship.

King height approx. 10 cm

Complete set with all pieces

Each piece individually worked

Undersides traditionally felted

Square: 47 cm x 47 cm, height 1.2 cm

Style & origin

The piece ensemble is designed in an oriental-historic inspired style, as is common in high-quality export art from workshops of craft traditions (including southern- and eastern-European as well as South Asian craft traditions).

The execution recalls classical depictions of historic rulers and court scenes, as often seen in artisanal chess sets of the 20th century.

Chessboard

The matching wooden chessboard is well crafted and features decorative inlay work. The warm grain of the woods used underscores the decorative character of the ensemble and makes it an elegant piece for living spaces and a collection.

Condition

The chess set is in very good preserved, well-kept condition with beautiful authentic patina. Fully complete, with no missing parts.

Character & rarity

This set is not an industrial mass-produced product but a handcrafted one-of-a-kind from a time when chess sets were produced as decorative art objects.

It is suitable equally as:

- a high-quality collectible
- a decorative interior piece
- a fully playable chess game