Luxury Chess Set with Carved Chess-Piece Border and Bronze Pieces

Luxury Chess Set with Carved Chess-Piece Border and Bronze Pieces — Handmade in Armenia

An entire army of chess pieces — pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, kings — is carved in relief round the frame of this luxury chess set, and the outside of the lid carries a great sun wheel among acanthus scrolls. 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″ open, handmade in Armenia from beech and walnut, with 32 openwork bronze pieces and a bag.

This is the wooden chess set that carries its own army on the frame. Every silhouette on the border is cut in the rounded relief of a turned piece, standing on a stippled ground inside a beaded rim, and they face inward towards the field on all four sides. The squares are inlaid maple and walnut with the coordinates in brass discs. The 32 real pieces are openwork castings in a gold-tone bronze finish, one army on pale bases, the other on dark.

Closed, the board is a carving before it is a game: a sun wheel in a ring of knotwork fills the centre of each half, with acanthus scrolls unwinding to the corners and a beaded edge round the rim. It folds on bronze hinges to half its width and goes in the bag.

Specifications

• Size: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Material: beech and walnut wood, stained walnut brown, with inlaid maple and walnut squares
• Carving: rows of chess-piece silhouettes in relief round the frame on a stippled ground, beaded rim; sun wheel in a knotwork ring with acanthus scrolls on the outside of each half
• Pieces: 32 openwork cast bronze chess pieces on turned bases, 16 pale and 16 dark
• Folded: 30 × 60 cm / 11.8″ × 23.6″
• Hardware: bronze hinges and clasps, brass coordinate discs
• Craftsmanship: handmade in Armenia

What's Included

• Folding carved chess board
• 32 cast bronze chess pieces on wooden bases, 16 pale and 16 dark
• Carrying bag

Why You'll Love It

• An army on the frame: the border is carved as rows of chess pieces, a silhouette for every man on the board.
• Carved shut as well as open: sun wheels, knotwork and acanthus over the whole outside — sculpture on the side table.
• Bronze in the hand: openwork castings with real heft, pale bases against dark.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Are the pieces solid bronze? They are cast bronze — pierced, gold-toned, darkened in the recesses — set on turned wooden bases, and they have the heft to prove it. Everything on the board is carved: the border army, the sun wheels, the scrolls, all in relief on a hand-stippled ground. The squares are inlaid wood. Nothing is printed.

What about shipping and returns? Shipping is free worldwide and tracked. Every set is covered by our 30-day returns policy.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store it closed.