I was lucky enough to get hold of one of these rare caricature like chess sets made by Magda and Andrzej Nowakowscy from Warsaw, Poland. It is a so called "Armada Set", the design of which was probably inspired by the destruction of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588. The pieces were cut from brass and copper sheet and then soldered with decorations including coloured stones and real bird feathers. The kings are 10cm, the pawns 8.6cm. The brass side represents the Spanish Armada, with the king and queen in opulent costume, Spanish galleys as rooks and pawns with morrión helmets. The copper side represents the English fleet with frigates as rooks. The bishops on both sides are designed as soldiers with halberds and rapiers. The attention to detail is amazing. The ships used as rooks, for example, have inflated sails, ropes and little cannons on both sides, the helmets of the pawns are decorated with real bird feathers etc. The set came with its original board box with brass and copper squares, amber decorations on each corner, red velvet interior felting to protect the pieces and a crest shaped metal sign on the inside of the lid with the makers' names. Also, the bottom of each piece is engraved with the names of Magda and Andrzej Nowakowscy.

Andrzej Jerzy Nowakowscy was born on October 2, 1938 in Lublin, Poland. He graduated from the State High School of Visual Arts in Warsaw, which he attended from 1953 to 1957. He finished with very high marks in artistic subjects including drawing, painting and sculpture. In the years 1957 to 1966 he devoted himself exclusively to watercolor and oil paintings and the drawing of sketches and comics. The latter is reflected in his later work, as can be seen here. During this period, he started experimenting with artistic metalworks, which became his love and passion for the rest of his life. Initially he made jewellery, i.e. rings, bracelets, brooches and necklaces, but he soon developed what became the hallmark of his entire artistic work: unique figurines.

The artistic value of these small sculptures, in which the artist reflected human life, sometimes grotesquely and amusingly, was noticed in 1966 by Prof. Adam Jabłoński, chairman of the ORNO Cooperative of Artistic Handiwork, a Polish mid-century cooperative of artists located in Warsaw. At ORNO Andrzej Nowakowscy worked for five years, learning the techniques and professional secrets of a metalwork artist. Already in 1967 he obtained a professional diploma in the goldsmith trade. In 1971 he married Magda Strzelecka. Together, they opened a goldsmith workshop in 1973, which became famous for its unique metal-plastic products. In a very short time he became known beyond the Polish borders and received commissions from all over the world, especially Japan. During his lifetime, Nowakowscy received many awards, including Poland's Silver Cross of Merit. He died in Warsaw in 2008.

Eight different chess sets made by Nowakowscy were shown in the exhibition "Chesswonderland" in the Gallery Malzhaus, Plauen, Germany, from October 29th to November 24th, 2022 to coincide with the German meeting of Chess Collectors International, among them an "Armada Set" just like the one shown here. The exact number of chess sets made by Nowakowscy is unknown, but it most certainly is a very low number.