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Chess set

1917
Not on view
The pieces on the buff side are portraits of the military leaders on the German side in the first World War; the black side represents the opposing Allied leaders. The pawns are fighting men in various uniforms. The set was evidently made after the entry of America into the war in 1917. Max Nicolaus Niemeier (b. 1876) was a portraitist of the German school. A board of inlaid wood is en suite with the set.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chess set
  • Maker: Max Nicholas Niemeier (German, 1876–after 1930)
  • Date: 1917
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Pear wood
  • Dimensions: Height (each king): 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm);
    Height (each bishop): 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
  • Classification: Chess Sets
  • Credit Line: Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948
  • Object Number: 48.174.169a–p, aa–pp, q
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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