Bone & Ivory Chess Sets - Welcome to the Chess Museum

Canton Bones

Cantonese "Burma"style bone set, with the white king standing 64 mm. These pieces - no two exactly alike - shd be from the end of the 19th C - the white king is notably higher than the red one, with slightly different hats and stems. The two red steeds hail from different stables, and a former owner has glued stems with the aid of sealing lacquer - a frequent practice in former days!

Indian Camelbone set

Recent Camelbone set which stuck to my hands - 80-ies to 90ies - kings stand 133 mm high, all pieces are made of threaded sections, which can be unscrewed.

Miniatures

Miniature bone set, finely turned, with a 30 mm king - photographed with a ballpen! No two pieces are alike - the overall impresion is You need a magnifying glass and pincers to risk a game..the info I have it is from Nuremberg and 19th Century. It stands to reason that a set this small was made a s cabinet trick for collectors, proving the prowess of the turner. The tiny board was acquired separetely - but seems to be the correct one for this set!

"Netsuke" chessmen

The name is fitting, as these minute chessmen must have been carved by the same artesans who make - or made - netsuke (belt weights) and other small ivory trinkets, with similar whimsical features. These sets are not too rare, were made in Japan in the first half of the 20th C. This one was most likely made by a prominent carver - the kings are signed with a Kanji pictograph on the base - and the pawns each side are different, one side kneeling, the other standing. The major pieces are even slightly engraved to show the intricate patterns of the Kimonos! The theme is feudal Tokugawa society - daimyos as kings, humble rice farmers as pawns, samurais in full war dress as knights, bonzes as bishops, and a temple tower as rooks. Natural and tea-coloured - the whole set and the accompanying marquetry box are superbly finished, as is usual in Japanese handicraft!

Birds

Finely cut show set form Hongkong, in the 60ies to 80ies. The kakadu is king (94 mm), the helmeted pigeon is bishop, and nightingales are the pawns (as far as my ornithological ken goes...). Slightly incongruous to have horsehead knights and rooks in this voliere. Each piece is a carved blade of bone fixed in a turned bone base. Attractive cloth-covered cassette to protect these pieces.

19th C Indian set

Fragile bone pieces out of Canton, 19th Century, king 70 mm. Tthis set is not really complete, 3 pieces are rightaway wood replicas, one base is recreated in wood, and two pawns are replacements. Still, an interesting antique, with numerous features familiar from old Guangdong exexport sets. Check other collectors pages - Links - for better sets of this kind.

Selenus type

Bone chess set, probably made in Germany, with the intricate baskets on king and queen associated with Gustavus Selenus, and the whole german tradition following his famous book with piece illustrations. The eye dots are probably not original, but one former owners children might have been busy with a felt pen...

Barleycorn

Passable barleycorn bone set, in the traditional red and white, probably british.. some sections do unscrew. King stands 84 mm - this must have been a playing set, as the filials on the rooks indicate.

Tall Bones

Tall and elegant bone playing set, 19th C to early 20th C - almost none of the usual dark pores inherent in bone sets! The rooks are missing filials, one side is polished natural, the other coloured red, the knights are most interesting. All sections are threaded and unscrew. Kings at 75 mm, most likely of indian origin,made for the british market.