POW Chess Set, Belgium, 1944

A unique handcarved Prisoner of War chess set made by a German carver in a POW camp in Belgium in 1944. POW chess sets are ambiguous for collectors. Due to the restraints in the POW camps and the limited availability of material, POW chess sets are usually very simple, almost never turned, but rather crudely carved, which does not make them very attractive from an artistic perspective. On the other hand, such sets are always unique and the sets that survived were highly prized by the prisoner and his descendants and usually kept as a memento. The set here is an exception to the rule, because it is unusually artistic in its making. It is a figural set with individually carved pieces. The maker seems to have been a professional carver from Bavaria, as some of the pawns are dressed in traditional costume typical for Upper Bavaria. The carving shows a lot of attention to detail. What is even more unusual for a POW set is that one side is decorated with polychrome lacquer - apparently the white side as all pieces are on white pedestals - while the other side is stained in a dark brown.



The kings have a size of 8 cm. Together with the queens, they are designed as medieval rulers in royal gowns and with a hoop crown and a coronet, respectively. The rooks as circular watchtowers with brickwork, battlements and a conical top. The knights as rearing horses. The bishops as German runners (Läufer), but with a nice twist: the first set I have seen, where the runners are females wearing short skirts! One further highlight are the pawns, which are individually designed, one pair of each, i.e. one polychrome, one stained brown. As mentioned, the pawns include men in traditional costume holding a large glass of beer, women in traditional blouse and skirt and wearing a hat as well as men wearing coats and top hat.