WORLD CULTURES : ASIA

Object Name: Figure
Description: Red chess piece features an intricately carved man with a sword on horseback supported on flat circular lotus carved base with globular puzzle ball stem in ivory. The costume on the cavalryman may be Mongolian. The piece which can be separated in two, comprises a figure (with detachable sword) on a base which can be screwed apart from the puzzle ball on a base, essentially allowing for 2 games in one. This is one of two chess pieces, the other one being BELUM.C374.1926 a white ivory chess piece of a knight who is a bowman. Most likely made around 1850 – 1880 in China, Qing dynasty as an export piece for use in Western-style chess. It’s unlikely this piece was made for ‘Chinese chess’ (Xiangqi) which is different to Western-style chess in terms of its characters and rules. Xiangqi was (until the last few years) played almost exclusively with flat discs.
Materials: ivory
Place Collected
Catalogue Number: BELUM.C375.1926
Notes: National Museums NI

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