Chess set and board
This set is of the design standardized and registered in 1849 with the name of (Howard) Staunton, a Shakespearean actor and scholar. This famous English player brought an end to French superiority in chess by beating Pierre C.F. de Saint-Amant in 1843 in a series of games. It would seem that he judiciously avoided playing the American prodigy Paul Morphy. There is a leather board en suite.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chess set and board
- Date: 20th century
- Culture: French
- Medium: Ivory, leather
- Dimensions: Height (each king): 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm);
Height (each pawn): 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm);
Overall (board): 1 1/2 × 15 1/2 × 15 5/8 in. (3.8 × 39.4 × 39.7 cm) - Classification: Chess Sets
- Credit Line: Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1953
- Object Number: 53.71.34a–p, aa–pp, q, r
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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1853
Richard Barth
Max Esser
1933
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1944
Max Esser
Frieda Bastanier
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ca. 1929
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