Chess: East and West, Past and Present. A Selection from the Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Collection

by Charles K. Wilkinson, Jessie McNab Dennis

Chess is a game known by name to almost everyone, and it is played the world over. In Europe and America it is known as an intellectual game with precise rules played with thirty-two pieces on a board of sixty-four squares. Even though players today may be aware that there have been some changes in the rules of the game, most of them are unacquainted with the extent of change in every aspect of chess; the board, the pieces and their names, and the manner of play. Both chess and chessmen display a truly amazing variety. An inquiry into why this is so takes us far afield and back many centuries. Chessmen, even when so crude that they can hardly be called works of art (to use the current meaning of the phrase), reflect a great deal of the time and place in which they were made. This is obviously true in the pieces made in human form, but it is also true in the so-called "conventional" pieces, which, as seen in this publication, are far more varied than most people are aware. In the representational sets we have almost a miniature world of fashion. They also reflect all sorts of historical events, reminding us especially of wars, both foreign and domestic, and of revolutions and uprisings. Some were made for purposes of propaganda: to further a favorite cause or to express disagreement with international arrangements. Conflicting ideologies, both political and religious, are shown, and even frivolous oppositions are embodied in these small objects, such as that presumed to exist between blondes and brunettes. In fact, all kinds of confrontations are manifest in chessmen, some whimsical, some meaningless, almost all reflecting the artistic fashions of the age in which they were made. They thus form a running commentary on decorative art as it changes from century to century.

The chessmen and boards illustrated in this book range from the seventh century to present and come from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Although all made for a single game, they give a very good idea of the diversity in the world. They formed the bulk of an exhibition titled Chess: East and West, Past and Present, shown at the Brooklyn Museum from April to October 1968, and sponsored by that museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Within the selection published here, which represents about a third of the Metropolitan's chess collection, much can be learned, by examination and study, of the history of probably what is the world's most fascinating and universal game, and along with it much of the history and interrelation of various parts of the world. [This book was originally published in 1968 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

136 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1989

Reviews

[tortoise dreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the hard cover catalogue of an exhibition of chess pieces and sets shown at the Brooklyn Museum in 1968 and sponsored by that institution and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the bulk of which is portrayed here. Most of the works are from the Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Collection, and what's displayed is about a third of the Metropolitan's collection. Who knew the Met collected chess sets? The earliest pieces are from the Sixth or Seventh Centuries to the Ninth and Eleventh Centuries, with the most recent from the 20th Century up to 1944. The sets are made in a wide variety of materials from ivory, bone, wood, amber, iron, silver, ammunition cartridges, and just about anything else the human mind can conceive. Sets are presented from every region on earth -- Indigenous Americans from Mexico and Alaska, Nigeria and Algeria, Japan, China, Burma, Malaya, India, as well as virtually every country in Europe. There are representational sets, designed as figures whether animals or human. These often portray competing armies such Christians and Muslims, Communists and Capitalists, Prussians and Hungarians, Good and Evil, and concepts such as the Conversion of California, The Discovery of America, Shakespeare, Cowboys and Indians, even Blondes and Brunettes. Some of the sets are clearly partisan and intended to make political or social statements. An unusual way to evaluate history and society. There are also the more commonly used "conventional" or abstract designs, meaningful only to those who understand the motif -- such as the most common Staunton style. In all there are 108 styles of pieces or sets. The introduction is authoritative, thorough, and interesting, covering a wide variety of themes regarding the history of chess and pieces. For the player, addict, or collector this is an eye-opening book showing great diversity and creativity, and some of the sets (Alice in Wonderland) are great fun. Copies are available second hand. In the "if wishes were horses" category, the book could've benefited from more color plates, there are a few but not enough and the character of the various pieces and sets don't come through well in black and white. But then the catalogue would've cost a fortune. [4★]