Ivory & Bone c. 700 AD – 1900
Afrasiab Chessmen c. 700 AD
Charlemagne Chessmen c. 1080–1120
Charlemagne Knight c. 1080–1120
Charlemagne Queen c. 1080–1120
Charlemagne Pawn c. 1080–1120
Lewis Chessmen — Warder c. 1150–1200
Lewis Chessmen — Berserker c. 1150–1200
Lewis Chessmen — Group c. 1150–1200
Lewis Chessmen — Museum c. 1150–1200
Walrus Ivory King Medieval
Walrus Ivory Knight Medieval
Afrasiab · Charlemagne · Lewis · Vizagapatam · Northern Upright The oldest surviving chess pieces. From abstract 7th-century Samarkand to the expressive Lewis Chessmen of Norse origin, through ornate Indian export sets and Chinese puzzle balls. Ivory was the material of courts and conquerors.
Ivory Knight c. 1510
Vizagapatam Export Chess c. 1750–1850
Indian Chessmen c. 1750–1850
Indian Ivory Detail c. 1750–1850
Met Chess Set c. 1800
Ager Chessmen c. 1050–1100
Chinese Puzzle Ball 19th Century
Northern Upright 19th Century
Northern Upright Slender 19th Century
Puzzle Ball — George II c. 1740s
Wood 1616 – 2000
Selenus Pattern 1616
Selenus Detail 1616
Régence Pattern c. 1715–1850
Barleycorn Pattern c. 1800–1849
Staunton Chess Set 1849
Original Jaques Staunton 1849
Staunton Opening 1849
Man Ray Chess Set 1920–1926
Bauhaus Chess Set 1924
Bauhaus — Walker Gallery 1924
Hartwig Detail 1924
Hartwig Pieces 1924
Hartwig Complete 1924
Max Ernst 1944
Selenus · Staunton · Man Ray · Hartwig · Ernst · Calvert · St. George The material of standardisation. From Selenus’s 1616 treatise through the Régence, St. George, and Barleycorn patterns to Nathaniel Cook’s 1849 Staunton, which became the universal standard. Then the modernists: Man Ray, Hartwig at the Bauhaus, Max Ernst.
Max Ernst Pieces 1944
Régence Match c. 1715–1850
Jaques Staunton Original 1849
Tournament Set Wood
Met Chess Board Wood
Calvert Chess 19th Century
Calvert Chessmen 19th Century
Calvert Board 19th Century
Calvert Pattern 19th Century
St. George Chessmen 19th Century
St. George Detail 19th Century
St. George Men 19th Century
St. George Style 19th Century
Ceramic & Porcelain 12th C – 1900s
Persian Chess Set c. 12th Century
Persian Rook c. 12th Century
Persian Bishop c. 12th Century
Persian King c. 12th Century
Persian Knight c. 12th Century
Sasanian · Persian · Meissen · Kändler · Esser · Wedgwood From ancient Persian and Sasanian abstract forms, among the earliest known chess pieces, to Meissen under Kändler and Esser, and Wedgwood’s neoclassical jasperware. Clay was chess’s first medium; porcelain became its most precious.
Sasanian Agate Ancient
Sasanian Ceramic Ancient
Meissen Seetiere 1717–1930s
Meissen Kändler 18th Century
Wedgwood c. 1780s
Metal 1920 – present
Man Ray — MoMA 1920–1926
Alexander Calder c. 1944
Bobby Fischer 1972
Bobby Fischer 1960
Fischer vs Spassky — G5 1972
Fischer vs Spassky — G13 1972
Fischer — Amsterdam Metal
Bobby Fischer 1972
Gehry / Tiffany 2012
Gehry / Tiffany Detail 2012
Gehry / Tiffany Forms 2012
Man Ray · Calder · Fischer · Gehry · Hadid · Skyline Chess The century of artists and architects. Man Ray’s geometric brass, Calder’s wire sculptures, Fischer’s legendary 1972 match against Spassky. Then Gehry for Tiffany, Zaha Hadid’s parametric towers, Skyline Chess’s city skylines cast in metal.
Gehry / Tiffany Pieces 2012
Zaha Hadid 2014
Zaha Hadid — Silver 2014
Zaha Hadid — Red 2014
Skyline Chess — NYC 2016–present
Skyline Chess — Premium 2016–present
Tournament Staunton 1972
Calder Detail c. 1944
Fischer–Spassky Set 1972
Fischer–Spassky Detail 1972
Fischer–Spassky Pieces 1972
Crystal & Glass 1944 – 2014
Isamu Noguchi 1944
Noguchi Chess Set 1944
Noguchi Table 1944
Noguchi Pieces 1944
Noguchi Set 1944
Swarovski Crystal 1984–2007
Swarovski Detail 1984–2007
Murano Glass 1960s–present
Murano Detail 1960s–present
Noguchi · Swarovski · Murano · Nendo / Baccarat Transparency as concept. Noguchi’s Lucite pieces for “The Imagery of Chess” exhibition, Swarovski’s precision-cut crystal, Murano’s hand-blown tradition, and Nendo’s radical reimagining of Baccarat’s Harcourt glass.
Murano Pieces 1960s–present
Nendo / Baccarat 2014
Nendo / Baccarat Detail 2014
Nendo / Baccarat Pieces 2014
Nendo Sketch 2014
Mixed & Conceptual 1943 – present
Dalí — Fingers Chess 1964–1968
Dalí — Board 1964–1968
Dalí — Pieces 1964–1968
Dalí — Detail 1964–1968
Marcel Duchamp 1943
Duchamp Playing 1943
Duchamp Pocket Chess 1943
Yoko Ono — Play It By Trust 1966
Yoko Ono — Detail 1966
LEGO Chess Set 2012–present
Yoom Chess Set Mixed & Conceptual
Yoom Chess Mixed & Conceptual
Yoom Pieces Mixed & Conceptual
Yoom Board Mixed & Conceptual
Yoom Overview Mixed & Conceptual
Yoom Close-up Mixed & Conceptual
Peter Ganine c. 1947
Michael Graves 2000
Graves Detail 2000
Graves Pieces 2000
Graves Overview 2000
Graves Board 2000
Duchamp · Dalí · Ono · Hirst · Whiteread · Kruger · Emin · Kusama Chess as art object. Duchamp quit art for chess. Dalí cast surreal fingers. Yoko Ono made both sides white. The RS&A “Art of Chess” commissions brought in Hirst, Whiteread, Kruger, and Emin. Plus Graves, Rashid, Hermès, Kusama, LEGO.
Graves Complete 2000
Hermès 2014
Hermès Detail 2014
Hermès Pieces 2014
Kusama Pumpkin Chess Mixed & Conceptual
Kusama Chess Mixed & Conceptual
Kusama Detail Mixed & Conceptual
Kusama Pieces Mixed & Conceptual
LEGO Detail 2012–present
LEGO Pieces 2012–present
LEGO Kingdoms 2012–present
LEGO Pirates 2012–present
Karim Rashid 2004
Rashid Detail 2004
Rachel Whiteread 2003
Whiteread Detail 2003
Whiteread Pieces 2003
Damien Hirst 2003
Hirst Detail 2003
Barbara Kruger 2003
Kruger Detail 2003
Tracey Emin 2003