Indian "John Company" Chess Set, 19th century

Indian "John Company" Chess Set, 20th century

Here are some pieces from a very rare mid 19th century "John Company" chess set from India. For more information on "John Company" sets, check here.

This particular set is much different from other sets of this type, as it includes  a multitude of different pieces. Save for the kings and queens the pieces on each side are different from the respective other side. The style of carving is identical which indicates that the pieces all come from the same workshop. It seems, however, that the set was assembled individually from all sorts of pieces manufactured by this workshop. This makes it somewhat difficult to determine, which piece was meant for which position. There are, for example, mounted pieces, i.e. horses with riders and camels with riders. In other John Company sets of the time, the horses would have been the knights and the camels would have been the bishops. However, here we also have Rhinos and Buffalos. There is a discussion among collectors, whether animals served as bishops or knights. At the same time, the set includes extremely rare Juggernaut carts, which usually were bishops, and boats, which were usually rooks. In light of this uncertainty, I decided to show individual pieces and the incredible craftsmanship which was required for making them rather than the complete set.
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