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
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
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