Miniature pedestal table with inlaid chessboard
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
Ivory, horn, wood
Dimensions
Overall (confirmed): 8 1/8 × 10 1/2 × 10 1/2 in. (20.6 × 26.7 × 26.7 cm)
Classification
Chess Sets
Culture
Indian
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1948
Accession Number
48.174.67
Art Historical Context
This exquisite miniature pedestal table with an inlaid chessboard, crafted in 19th-century India, showcases the region's masterful decorative arts. Standing just over 8 inches tall and 10½ inches square, it is ingeniously constructed from ivory, horn, and wood—materials prized for their durability and luminous qualities. The chessboard is artfully inlaid into the tabletop, transforming a functional game piece into a portable luxury object, perfect for travel or intimate gatherings. Chess, known anciently in India as *chaturanga* (the "four divisions" of the army), originated there around the ...