Mongolian Shatar set, early 20th century

Mongolian Shatar set, early 20th century

 A small figural shatar set, which was made in Mongolia in the early 20th century. These sets are traditionally very small with a king size of just a few centimeters, but are often decorated in lively colours and sought after by collectors due to their rarity. Mongolian shatar sets come in a variety of forms, many of which have been researched and described in more detail by fellow collector Rodolfo Pozzi. With his book on Mongolian sets, he provided by far the best source on sets of this type.

The kings are depicted as Mongolian rulers on a throne, the queens as tigers with striped fur and bared teeth. The bishops, following the Indo-Asian tradition, are depicted as camels and the knights as horses. The rooks are depicted by a two-wheeled horse and cart, which is a common theme in Mongolian sets (there are also examples with motorcars and trucks). The pawns as birds, on one side as peacocks, on the other as chickens, with the individual pieces each assuming a different posture, which makes the set very special. The two sides are distinguished by the colour of their bases, one side with green bases, the other with orange bases.

The former owner of the set bought it in 1997 from Garrick Coleman in his shop on Portobello Road.
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