A Rare Carved Ivory Indian Rajasthan Chess Piece

A Rare Carved Ivory Indian Rajasthan Chess Piece a Pawn Depicting a Woman Kneeling Dressed in a Full Skirt and Bodice Her Long Hair Tucked Behind Her Ears and Flowing Down Her Back
Old green staining visible to the base the ivory now dark with age
Fine smooth silky patina
The hands missing the breaks rubbed smooth

Mid 17th Century

Size: 5.2cm high, 3cm dia. - 2 ins high, 1¼ ins dia.

CITES permit: 2025/BE01017/CE

The elements of early chess were shaped in imitation of warfare and in particular of Indian warfare, but it was primarily a game albeit one with symbolic overtones, which helped to imbue it with status and prestige. The game was modelled on a traditional historical image of war, one in which the elephant corps remained important, and not on a close observation of contemporary military reality.
As a complex game chess has proved to be extraordinarily stable. Hundreds of years have passed bringing new patterns of thought and leisure, as well as computer programs, and yet the rules of chess have altered hardly at all.