German Ivory Chess Set, "Erbach" Pattern, Early 20th Century

German Ivory Chess Set, Erbach Pattern, Early 20th Century

Ivory chess set from Erbach / Germany. Erbach is a small town in the Odenwald Area, some 40 km southeast of Franfurt. It was (and is) the ivory carving center of Germany. Especially in the 19th century many finely carved figural chess sets came from this town. This set follows a popular Staunton design introduced in Erbach in the late 19th century and still available from local ivory carvers until today. King size is 3". One side is stained brown, the other side is left natural.

This particular design was copied by the Chinese, which also sold many of these and similar sets in the 1960's and 1970's.
Share by: