While there are fabulous collections of African chess sets by some of my fellow collectors, I was personally never truly interested in African sets, until I came across this set here. I acquired it from a German engineer, who was working in Liberia in the early 1970s as an expat in the mining business. It was made to order by a local craftsman, so it is fair to say that this set is most likely a one off and rather unique in style. The pieces are carved from local hardwoods, one side light brown, the other dark brown. The set depicts African tribal motifs. The kings with a size of 12.5 cm apparently represent tribal chiefs or elders with a goatee beard. The queens as nude women with braided hair. The bishops as busts with African heads and short curly hair. The knights as African goats very similar to breeds like the Boer goat or Kalahari Red. The rooks as simple huts. The pawns are somewhat difficult to identify. They are rather large compared to the other pieces and have a conical shape with round bases and a small peg protruding from the top. They somehow remind me of African mortars used to mashing corn or millet.