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Battle of Panormus chessmen (32) and box-board

late 18th century
Not on view
The pieces and the board they came with were probably made by Friederich Donaleitis of Königsberg in 1778 from a seventeenth-century prototype. The bases are boldly engraved with numbers from 1 to 32 on the underside. It has been thought that the set represents the battle of Panormus (present-day Palermo), fought in 250 B.C. between the Romans under Metellus and the Carthiginians under Hasdrubal, but this is hypothetical. The subject of Romans and Barbarians was a popular one in all forms of art.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Battle of Panormus chessmen (32) and box-board
  • Designer: Design attributed to Andreas Schluter, Danzig and the Court of Berlin
  • Maker: Friederich Donaleitis (Konigsberg)
  • Date: late 18th century
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Silver, silver-gilt
  • Dimensions: Height (each king): 3 in. (7.6 cm);
    Height (each pawn): 2 in. (5.1 cm);
    Overall (board): 3 3/4 × 17 1/8 × 17 1/8 in. (9.5 × 43.5 × 43.5 cm)
  • Classification: Chess Sets
  • Credit Line: Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948
  • Object Number: 48.174.73a–p, aa–pp, q
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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