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Lot Essay
Dieppe, Paris, Oyonnax and Méru were the main centres of ivory carving in France during the 19th Century. The fashion for chess sets was fuelled by the Napoleonic wars and the pursuit of scientific reasoning. Napoleon was also apparently an avid player. The French carvers designed sets based on past events, the more elaborate examples carved in full length. New designs abounded to tempt buyers, who were typically English or Russian, and favoured historical personages and Napoleonic memorabilia.
This type of ivory set is traditionally attributed to the workshops operating in Paris during the latter half of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. (see Michael Mark, 'Chessmen Practical and Ornamental', Asprey's exhibition catalogue 1986). A number of similar sets exist in important collections and are attributed to this school of carving. Victor Keats, in his book Chessmen For Collectors illustrates a similar set based on the theme of Napoleon versus Tzar Alexander I from the Harbeson Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1964, figure 33.
Carson Ritchie Ivory, A History and Collectors Guide, Thames and Hudson, 1987, page 137.
This type of ivory set is traditionally attributed to the workshops operating in Paris during the latter half of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. (see Michael Mark, 'Chessmen Practical and Ornamental', Asprey's exhibition catalogue 1986). A number of similar sets exist in important collections and are attributed to this school of carving. Victor Keats, in his book Chessmen For Collectors illustrates a similar set based on the theme of Napoleon versus Tzar Alexander I from the Harbeson Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1964, figure 33.
Carson Ritchie Ivory, A History and Collectors Guide, Thames and Hudson, 1987, page 137.