Chessmen (32) and box-board
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
Mother-of-pearl, wood, tortoiseshell
Dimensions
Height (each king): 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm); Height (each pawn): 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm); Overall (board): 12 × 12 in. (30.5 × 30.5 cm)
Classification
Chess Sets
Culture
British
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1953
Accession Number
53.71.195a–p, aa–pp, q
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 19th-century British set, comprising 32 chessmen and a compact box-board, exemplifies the Victorian era's fascination with elegant pastimes and fine craftsmanship. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Department of European Sculpture and Decor Arts, the set was a generous gift from Gustavus. Pfeiffer in 1953. Its petite scale—kings standing just 2½ inches tall and pawns 1¼ inches, with a 12×12-inch board—suggests it was designed for intimate, portable play, perhaps during travel or social gatherings among the leisure class. Crafted from luxurious mother-of-pearl, wood, and t...