Gallery — The Design of Chess

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 export ivory puzzle ball chess set

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 and his chess set at the Imagery of Chess exhibition

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 chess set, MoMA silver-plated brass

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 World Championship set detail

Fischer–Spassky Detail 1972

Fischer-Spassky World Championship chess set

Fischer–Spassky Pieces 1972

Crystal & Glass 1944 – 2014

Isamu Noguchi chess set plexiglass pieces

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 all-white chess set

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.