Europe – schaak-museum

Austria. This set is a bit of mystery to me. Considering the style and presentation, I suspect it from Austria, Northern Italy or South Germany and of recent date. The pieces are marked with a three-pointed star as you can see at the base of the white rook, but I don't know what that means.

On the other hand: I bought this set from someone in USA who was unable to tell more about the set. The pieces were weighted in a strange way: there was some weight material in the bottom of the pieces covered with thick white felt. However, at most of the pieces the material had swollen and was disintegrated in some kind of powder pushing the felt away. Some pieces could barely stand, so I removed all.

Georgia/Russia. Caucasus warriors as chessmen. According I.M.Linder, in his book "The Art of Chess Pieces", goes the design back to Zugdidi, Georgia, 1987. This is a set from "The porcelain of Kislovodsk City", in Kislovodsk, Stavropol Territory, USSR, made in the nineties of the 20th century. Differences from the original in Linder's book is the headdress of the bishops, the less elaborate painting and the felt under the pieces. I believe that originals have an under glass factory mark at the bottom.
I have added 2 pictures of a box of a similar set.

Germany. In the 19th century there were a lot of foundries that produced iron cast items. Of the ones that made chess sets deserve mentioning: Royal Ironworks in Berlin, E.G. Zimmermann in Hanau, Seebaß & Cie in Offenbach a/M and Albert Anton Meves in Berlin.

Sets 1 & 2 have a beloved theme, originally by Royal Ironworks in Berlin: "Frederick II (the great) vs. Napoleon I". Of course these persons were not contemporary but the Prussians wished Frederick II back to fight Napoleon! This theme has been copied by many. The royal pieces are based on designs by Carl August Kiss (Frederick II) and A.Kiss perhaps together with Wilhelm August Stilarsky (Napoleon), ca. 1820. There exist sets that have rooks that are all square, but normally the lower stage is round. The bishops wear Bearskin hats on the French side and the typical long helmets on the Prussian one. The 1st set, which is painted gold and black (at a later time I think), has bishops and queens switched from side. I guess that has occurred when it was painted. In both sets does Frederick miss his staff. The 1st set does have much more detail as the 2nd. This could have been caused by the fact that moulds of the 2nd set were used more often before this one was cast or, more likely, the casting sand used was coarser, which was generally so in later reproductions. Remarkable is that the 1st set is smaller and more detailed as the 2nd, while copies from originals are smaller because of the shrinkage of the iron (3/32 to 1/8 of an inch per foot), which also causes a loose of some detail. There must have been more moulds for these sets seen the differences in size and shape of rooks that exist. This theme is also produced in 20st century in pewter or tin.

Germany. Sets 3 & 4 have another well-known theme, originally by Zimmermann in Hanau: "the 30 Year War", with Ferdinand II of Habsburg (grey/silver side) battling against Gustavus Adolphus from Sweden (black side). This theme has been copied by many as well. The differences are mainly in the bases. The 1st set is not a Zimmermann because it is not marked as such. It could be an early copy from Seebaß, but the black rook is different from the white. Normally rooks of both sides do have the same shape in Zimmermann and Seebaß sets. So we don't know, but it looks like an original from an unknown maker. The 2nd set of the two is probably a later copy seen the round (in stead of octagonal) bases. 20st century copies in pewter or tin exist as well.

Germany. The factory at Fürstenberg was founded in 1747 under the Duke of Brunschwick ("Braunschweig") but no porcelain was made until 1753. The biscuit porcelain pieces are taken from the original 18th century moulds to commemorate the bi-centenary of the Fürstenberg factory. All pieces marked under the base with blue F-mark. The king as "Herzog Karl I von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel", the queen as his consort "Phillipine Charlotte von Preußen", bishops as "Johann Georg von Langen" (who did let start the porcelain production), knights as horses heads, rooks as turrets and pawns as peasant boys. A glass board fits with all pieces in a leatherette cassette. A rare and most decorative set.

Germany. Some nice porcelain sets. The "frog" and the "mouse" set from Albert Stahl & Co are searched for by collectors, but are not very rare. That can not be said for the round board, which seems to fit the frog set and has the anchor mark of Bohne & Söhne, like the "frog" set. That board is the only one I have seen, although I have seen similar ones, mostly with a porcelain thimbles chess set. See the pictures of the "frog" set. The little more rare "mouse" set has the "N" mark with 5-point crown. Mixtures of one side "frog" and he other "mouse" do exist as well, but I'm not sure about the originality of that. Of course are colour variations that I have seen original. To me it is unclear what the Bishops and what the Knights are in these sets. Probably I have switched them in my pictures of the "mouse" set. By the way: although named "the mouse set", do the animals look more like rats to me.

Germany. This tin set is based on the popular cartoon by Albert Uderzo and sculpted by Stuart Harris. It could be obtained by subscription, obtaining each month a piece or a couple (main piece and pawn I believe). Whether the cassette/board was a bonus or should be ordered separately, I do not know. But I know the total became very expensive. I bought mine second hand for still quite a lot of money. Next to the Extec edition there is a Mayfair edition, which to my knowledge is exactly the same. Maybe there are more editions. That way problems with stating "limited edition" could be avoided!

Greece. This set is still for sale today. This is what is stated at the Manopoulos side about this set: "This period was characterized by fierce local as well as international wars. The aggressiveness of the Pawn and the Knight fully represent the ferocity of these wars. The posture of the King and Queen indicates their unquestionable leadership. The Bishop reveals his consideration for the movements of the imminent battle. Finally, the Castle is a reproduction of a pillar which characterized the architectural style during that period." Note that the image is a stock photo.

Italy. The first set is identified by the moulded marks on rear base of each piece, stating "DEPOSE ITALY" with the spider mark of Fontanini. In the pictures you can see it at the white Knight. Only producing 1,500 sets, these pieces are cast in the famous Fontanini cast resin. Sets of this theme do exist with antique gold and silver finishes as well. The design is by Elio Simonetti.

The second set has exactly the same figures, so I assume the design is of Elio Simonetti as well and its origin is Italy and not Spain as said by auctioneer.

Italy. In 1912 Josef Anton Riffeser founded the ANRI Company, which he named using the first two letters of his first and last name. Josef’s wife, Carolina Riffeser ran the company during the difficult years of war and the absence of her husband. When Anton Adolf Riffeser took over in 1945, he transformed the ANRI company, adopting a more industrial model which allowed for better quality control and distribution to new markets. He was followed by Ernst Riffeser who was able to enlist the services of many well known artists including Juan Ferràndiz, Sarah Kay and others. The ANRI company today is run by Thomas Riffeser, and still remains in the same family.