Bohemian Chess Set, ca. 1890-1910

Bohemian Chess Set, ca. 1890-1910

Closely related to the Vienna coffeehouse style are the sets of the Bohemian style, from which the Czech club pieces still in use today have developed. Here is a very nice example with a king height of 10,6 cm, which I was able to acquire some time ago thanks to a friend, who pointed me to the offer. It dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. The wood has developed a wonderful caramel coloured patina due to its age. All pieces (with the exception of the pawns) are weighted. The kings have a pointed onion-shaped crown on a high slender shaft. They close with a small button-like finial in the other colour. The queens also have a long slender shaft with a hemispherical crown with five drop-shaped indentations on top, which also ends with a small ball finial in the other colour. The shape of the bishops is identical to that of the king, but is generally smaller in size. The top of the bishops is in the other colour, in keeping with the tradition of coffeehouse sets. The knights are depicted as elegant horse heads with widely curved forms reminiscent of elements of Art Nouveau. The mane is stylized with radial incisions in the wood. The rooks are shown as slender towers with brickwork and a gallery of four crenellations. Behind the crenellation a pointed roof with a spherical finial in the other colour can be seen. The pawns with oval heads are relatively large, i.e. almost as large as the towers, which is another characteristic of many Czech chess sets and makes them very attractive from my point of view.

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