BERHAMPUR, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details

AN ANGLO-INDIAN CARVED AND TURNED CHESS SET
BERHAMPUR, EARLY 19TH CENTURY
The kings with foliate capped finials above an acanthus tier and pierced gallery, the queens with acanthus finials above pierced galleries, on petal rimmed bases, the bishops with pierced mitres, knights as horses' heads and rooks as turrets surmounted by sepoy look-outs, on stiff-leaf bases
The king -- 4½in. (11.5cm.) high; the pawn -- 2 3/8in. (6cm.) high

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Lot Essay

For a comparable set see The Kaspar Stock Collection of Chess Sets, Christie's South Kensington, 27 May 2004, lot 14. This type has been attributed to Berhampur, in the Bengal area, relatively close to Calcutta. Berhampur was established by the British as a barrack town in 1765 after the Battle of Plassey. The settlement of the colonisers created a demand for skilled craftsman to produce export goods, encouraging many of the talented ivory carvers from Delhi to migrate south, subseqently the area became highly admired for its superior quality of carving. For further discussion see Michael Mark, Antique Indian Chess Sets, Förderkreis Schach-Gechichtsforschung e.v., August 1997, page 45.

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