ticketsMember | Make a donation

Thirty Years War chessmen (32) and board

ca. 1860
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Thirty Years War chessmen (32) and board
  • Date: ca. 1860
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Silver, silver-gilt, sycamore and ebonized wood, brass
  • Dimensions: Height (silver king, confirmed): 2 7/8 in. (7.4 cm);
    Height (gold king, confirmed:) 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm);
    Height (gold knight, confirmed): 2 7/16 in. (6.2 cm);
    Height (silver knight, confirmed): 2 1/8 in. (5.3 cm); Overall (board, confirmed): 1 7/8 × 14 × 14 in. (4.8 × 35.6 × 35.6 cm).
  • Classification: Chess Sets
  • Credit Line: Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948
  • Object Number: 48.174.47a–p, aa–pp, q
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Work box in the form of a peacock, Mahogany, coniferous wood (pine?), oak; birch, boxwood, ebonized wood; inlay of sycamore, green stained holly, mahogany; bone, silver-gilt, blued steel, brass, velvet, printed paper, German, probably Berlin
Work box in the form of a peacock
German, probably Berlin
ca. 1830
Armchair, Karl Friedrich Schinkel German, Gilded mountain ash; brass mounts and casters; modern upholstery, German, Berlin
Armchair
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1828
Potpourri vase, Karl Friedrich Schinkel German, Glass, gilded yellow metal, marble, German, Berlin
Potpourri vase
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Werner & Mieth, Berlin
ca. 1810
Table, Royal Porcelain Manufactory, Berlin German, Hard-paste porcelain, gilded bronze, and yellow metal; iron and wood as support materials, German, Berlin
Table
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1833–34
The Brandenburg Gate, Carl von Scheidt German, Glass, enameled and gilt, German, Berlin
The Brandenburg Gate
Carl von Scheidt
1816

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.