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Lot Essay
This is a particularly fine example of a group of ivory chessmen with incised decoration in the form of tiny circles arranged in patterns. Our piece is from a set of chessman of abstract forms which were current in the early Islamic centuries. This piece represents the 'King', the whole being a symbolic representation of the throne. A similar 'King' is in the Museum fr Islamische Kunst, Berlin (Khnel, Die Islamische Elfenbeinskulpturen, Berlin, 1971, no.9, pl.V) Khnel dates this piece to the eighth or ninth century and attributes it to Egypt.
This technique of incised decoration was commonly used in Coptic ivories; and is found on a circular ivory box in the treasury of St. Geron, Cologne which according to the inscription in the form of tiny incised circles was made in Aden in 753 AD. Alternative attributions are to 11th century Egypt or to 12th century Sicily where an ivory casket made by a Muslim craftsman has similar incised decoration (Pinder-Wilson, R. 'The Reliquary of St. Petroc and the ivories of Norman Sicily', Archaeologia, vol.104, London, 1973, p.295f., and pls. LXXX,LXXXI).
Further examples of the 'King' and other comparable ivory pieces are in the British Museum (Contadini, A.:'Islamic Ivory Chess Pieces, Draughtsman and Dice' in Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, ed. James Allan, Oxford, 1995, Part I, pp.111-154). Four of the British Museum pieces were included in the exhibition Africa, The Art of a Continent (Phillips, T.: Africa, The Art of a Continent, London, 1995, pp.582-583, no.7.49) and were dated to 10th/11th century Egypt. Other ivory chess pieces are exhibited at the Metroplitan Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a related piece was sold at Sotheby's as lot 1, 30 April 1998, which depicts the 'Bishop'. Ten related abstract rock crystal chess pieces in the Kuwait National Museum (Jenkins, M.: Islamic Art in the Kuwait National Museum) dated to the 10th century include not only the 'King' and the 'Bishop' but also show the abstract forms in which the 'Knight','Rook' and 'Pawn' were made.
This technique of incised decoration was commonly used in Coptic ivories; and is found on a circular ivory box in the treasury of St. Geron, Cologne which according to the inscription in the form of tiny incised circles was made in Aden in 753 AD. Alternative attributions are to 11th century Egypt or to 12th century Sicily where an ivory casket made by a Muslim craftsman has similar incised decoration (Pinder-Wilson, R. 'The Reliquary of St. Petroc and the ivories of Norman Sicily', Archaeologia, vol.104, London, 1973, p.295f., and pls. LXXX,LXXXI).
Further examples of the 'King' and other comparable ivory pieces are in the British Museum (Contadini, A.:'Islamic Ivory Chess Pieces, Draughtsman and Dice' in Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, ed. James Allan, Oxford, 1995, Part I, pp.111-154). Four of the British Museum pieces were included in the exhibition Africa, The Art of a Continent (Phillips, T.: Africa, The Art of a Continent, London, 1995, pp.582-583, no.7.49) and were dated to 10th/11th century Egypt. Other ivory chess pieces are exhibited at the Metroplitan Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a related piece was sold at Sotheby's as lot 1, 30 April 1998, which depicts the 'Bishop'. Ten related abstract rock crystal chess pieces in the Kuwait National Museum (Jenkins, M.: Islamic Art in the Kuwait National Museum) dated to the 10th century include not only the 'King' and the 'Bishop' but also show the abstract forms in which the 'Knight','Rook' and 'Pawn' were made.