NEAR MIDDLE EAST OR INDIA, 9TH-14TH CENTURY OR LATER

The shape of the example below relates to early chess pieces. Four domed and facetted examples kept at the Metropoltian Museum New York, including three made of jet and another of ivory, are attributed to the western Islamic lands and dated to a period from the 8th to the14th century (1972. 9. 31, 1972. 119. 5, 37. 75. 20 and 1974. 98. 1). The Museum notes the ivory piece was excavated at Sbaita, Palestine. However, each New York example is of notable smaller size which may suggest a later dating or function for our piece.