Neuf pièces d'échecs

A group of nine carved bone chess pieces, Mughal India, 18th-19th century In turned bone stained green or red, eight in the form of cylinders ending in ocelli, and one in the form of a candelabra or spindle. D. at base 1.9 to 2.3 cm / H. 2.6 to 3.3 cm. The spool shapes of the king, queen and pawns are typical of Indian chess pieces, and quite similar pieces are referred to by Murray, (History of Chess, p. 89), as coming from Surat on the coast north of Bombay, where the first British trading station was opened in 1612. The pieces depicting fools (bishops) here are spindle-shaped, and date from the nineteenth century. Provenance : Public sale, France, Collection of M. de Wilde. Bibliography: Published in R. de Wilde, Poids, Balances et Pions des Civilisations Anciennes, 2017, reproduced p. 270 A group of nine carved bone chess pieces, Mughal India, 18th-19th century The spool shapes of the king, queen and pawns are typical of Indian chess pieces, and quite similar pieces are referred to by Murray, (History of Chess, p. 89), as coming from Surat on the coast north of Bombay, where the first British trading station was opened in 1612. The pieces depicting fools (bishops) here are spindle-shaped, and date from the nineteenth century.