KHOLMOGORY, CIRCA 1920

Details

A NORTHERN RUSSIAN CARVED WALRUS IVORY FIGURAL CHESS SET
KHOLMOGORY, CIRCA 1920
The one side modelled as a hunter and wife, huskies, reindeer and tents, and huskies as pawns, opposing polar bears, walrus, yaks, icebergs and squirrels as pawns
The king -- 2½in. (6.5cm.) high; the pawn -- 1in. (2.5cm.) high
Together with a walrus ivory inlaid board, with inscribed label (2)

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Carving from walrus and mammoth ivory has a been a tradition in Russian folk art since the Middle Ages, originating in the northern regions and enjoying widespread popularity from the second half of the 18th Century. Several production centres of ivory carving were well known, including Kholmogory. This set depicts the nomadic life of the Siberian Eskimos. A similar late 19th Century set was exhibited and illustrated in The Art of Chess,Gilbert Collection, London 2003, page 13.

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