German Ivory Chess Set (Erbach), ca. 1920

German Ivory Chess Set (Erbach), ca. 1920

This beautiful chess set was made around 1920 in Erbach, the German ivory carving centre. The pieces are carved from elephant ivory, one side natural, the other stained dark brown. Although the king size is only 8 cm, the level of detail is exceptional. The royal pieces are robed and crowned. The kings are holding a long sword, the queens a flower. The knights as rearing horses. The rooks as war elephants with howdah. The pawns as peasants carrying a pipe. Possibly the most remarkable piece is the bishop representing the Roman god Mercurius. This is evident from the winged helmet and the staff he is holding, which is the magic wand he was awarded by Apollo, which later turned into the caduceus, the staff with intertwined snakes (similar to that of his Greek counterpart Hermes). Mercury is the Roman God of merchants, financial gain, commerce and luck as well as eloquence, messages, communication and travelers, but also of trickery and thieves. He also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld, so opposing pieces beware!

The chess set was the subject of several auctions, notably Christie's auction of 17 December 1997 (lot 79) and Bonhams' auction of 17 January 2011 (lot 82), and has an outstanding provenance. It formerly belonged to the collection of Ernst Boehlen and most recently to the collection of Michael Wiltshire.
Share by: