Piece Works: Concepts of Chess
Considering the origins and Modern reinterpretations of the imagery of chess…
Chess pieces and game boards have long been symbols of sophistication, style, intellectual and, sometimes, material wealth. The sets of small tactile sculptures present artisans and artists with an almost irresistible opportunity to showcase their craft and, in turn, for owners to proclaim their good taste. I recall a time when so many authors and intellectuals posed for their promotional pictures with a chess set and an (optional) whisky tumbler or brandy bowl…
The ostentatious heritage of chess dates back millennia to its Asian origins when its main antecedent was known as chaturanga, a game played on the same board of 8 x 8 squares with 32 pieces. Early sets were divided into four different colour-coded groups of eight pieces, rather than two opposing line-ups of 16. The game as it is played today developed through the merging of chaturanga with several similar board and tablet based games played and distributed primarily by Viking traders across Europe. Most notable of these was hnefatafl or ‘king’s table’ — a version of which is still played today.
The Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous of all and a rare example of surviving medieval chess pieces. Most of them were discovered among a Viking horde in…
