Chessmen (32)
Not on view
The silver king and queen are Charles III of Spain and his wife Maria Amelia of Saxony; the silver bishops are Franciscan friars. The heraldic device of Leon of painted on the shields of the knights. Rooks are mission churches, and the pawns are converted Indians. The gold king and queen are a Californian Indian chief and woman; the bishops are Indian men, the knights pumas, rooks are teepees, and the pawns are unconverted Indians. The set illustrates the Mission Period (1769–1823), when California was a colony of Spain, during which the missions of Dominicans in lower California and of Franciscans in upper California controlled the resources of the colony and the obedience of the Indians.
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