French Lyon Chess Set, ca. 1780-1820

French Lyon Chess Set, ca. 1780-1820

A French chess set presumably made in the Lyon region, which is why this type of set is commonly named "Lyon" set, some of which - as this one - have many features in common with the "Régence" pattern.  The pieces are turned from fruitwood, one side stained in red, the other stained in dark brown. King size is 80 mm. The Kings and Queens with urn shaped bases. The collars and the crowns of both, Kings and Queens are made of finely carved bone. The Rooks as full towers on a circular pedestal with four crenellations on top. The Knights and Bishops on a small circular pedestal. The Knights, extremely tall and just slightly shorter than the Kings, as beautifully carved horses' heads. Unlike many Lyon sets, this one comes with wooden horses, whereas the majority of Lyon sets has Knights with wooden bases and carved heads made of bone or ivory. The Bishops with very unusual large sweeping hats. The Pawns with spherical bases and pointed bulb top finials. All pieces on circular pedestals framed with a bone ring.

Some nice examples of Lyon sets are shown in Schachpartie durch Zeiten und Welten, Hans & Barbara Holländer, p. 210 et seq. and in Chessmen - Art and History, Mathieu & Ine Kloprogge, p. 106, both with additional information on the background of such sets.
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