SECOND QUARTER 20TH CENTURY

Details

A Continental alabaster bust type chess set
Second quarter 20th century
The theme base on the Ethiopians versus the Italians, on the Ethiopian side the king and queen wear crowns heightened in gilt, the knights as camel heads, the pawns as warriors in varying postures, on the Italian side, the king in military uniform, the queen with crown, the rooks representing armed tanks, the pawns as armed soldiers with rifles and backpacks
King -- 4½in. (11.5cm.); pawn -- 2¾in. (7cm.) high

Special notice

VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium. All lots sold not cleared by 1.00p.m. on the Thursday following the sale will be removed to the warehouse of: Cadogan Tate Ltd., Fine Art Services Cadogan House, 2 Relay Road London W12 7JS Telephone: 44 (0)20 8753 3700 Facsimile: 44 (0)20 8753 3701 Lots will be available for collection following transfer to Cadogan Tate on the Friday following the sale and every weekday from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE NO CHARGE TO PURCHASERS WHO COLLECT THEIR LOTS WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE SALE. On the Thursday one week after the sale, a transfer and administration charge of £18.50 per lot will be payable and a storage charge of £3.20 per lot per day will then come into effect. These charges are payable to Cadogan Tate and are subject to VAT and an insurance surcharge.

Lot Essay

The King represents the Emperor Haile Selassie who was the last emperor of Ethiopia (1930-74). Mussolini, who is represented as the king on the Italian side, annexed the country between 1935-1941.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Victor Keats, The Illustrated Guide to World Chess Sets, Batsford 1985. A similar example carved in ivory is illustrated on page 158, plate 184.
Alex Hammond, The Book of Chessmen, Arthur Baker Ltd, 1950.
Plate XLVII, page 146, illustrates a similar ivory set, carved by the French craftsman, Barkan in 1937. The bishops on the Italian side are recognised as De Bono and Badoglio, and on the Ethiopian side they are Ras Dessa and Habatu Markole.

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