Rich Man's Game: Collectible Chess Sets

Frank Gehry Chess Set is Funky, Costs $25,000
by Max Eddy | 11:00 am, April 28th, 2012


Frank Gehry is probably better known for his architectural works, which include the Guggenheim in Spain and the rippling 8 Spruce Street tower in lower Manhattan. He’s less known for his chess playing, but it apparently interested him enough to create this set for Tiffany and Co. for the bargain-basement price of $25,000.00.

Though the pieces are typical Gehry design, with their off-kilter angles, there’s something more at work here. According to Gizmodo, Gehry took the role of the pieces to heart when designing them. The knights lean to one side, belying their L-shaped movements, and the angular king contrasts with the rippling, curved queen. The pawns, meanwhile, have…cannons?

Art Daily Feature on the Dean Collection

Cool!  I was fortunate to be able to see the displayed sets at the World Chess Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis when 'Sis and I visited in September.

At Susan Polgar's blog:
Inaugural Lecture at World Chess Hall of Fame
October 4, 2011

In the News: World Chess Hall of Fame
September 7, 2011

Some Sets from the Vivian and George Dean Collection
September 11, 2011
(my own photos - not very good, unfortunately)


World Chess Hall of Fame presents highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection
December 7, 2011

ST. LOUIS, MO.- The World Chess Hall of Fame presents Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection as one of its inaugural exhibitions. This magnificent show celebrates the Deans’ 50th year of collecting together and uses outstanding selected works to trace the development of the game of chess and the design of fine chess sets from the tenth to the early twentieth century. Sets come from Austria, Cambodia, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kashmir, Morocco, Persia, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. Among the works on display are ones owned or commissioned by Catherine the Great, Napoleon, Czar Nicolas II, and the British royal family. And most importantly, this is the first time that the only two Fabergé sets in existence have been exhibited together in public. The Deans purchased their first chess set in the Middle East and thereafter acquired a set in each country they visited. As they studied chess history, they expanded their collection more systematically. Now they travel to new countries for the sole purpose of acquiring new sets to make their collection more complete. Their collection includes over 1,000 chess sets and related objects from over 100 countries. The Deans have generously shared their collection with the public for study, research, and education. Pieces from the collection have been shown at The Royal Academy of Art and The Somerset House, London; the Musée d’Orsay and Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; The Maryhill Museum of Art; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The 1990 Kasparov vs. Karpov World Chess Championship at Hotel Macklowe, New York City; and The Detroit Institute of Art. The book Chess Masterpieces: One Thousand Years of Extraordinary Chess Sets, (Abrams) by George Dean with Maxine Brady, which accompanies this exhibition has received The 2011 Cramer Award for Excellence in Chess Journalism. "As a curator, this was a unique opportunity to trace the evolution of chess using singular works from one of the finest private collections in the world,” said Larry List. For many years independent curator List has researched the intersections between chess-play, chess set design, and their rich interrelations with visual arts and music. He organized The Imagery of Chess Revisited exhibition and book for the Noguchi Museum, New York, and the Menil Collection, Houston. He has researched and replicated estate-authorized versions of lost chess sets and art works by Isamu Noguchi, Yves Tanguy, Andre Breton, Xanti Schawinsky, Xenia Cage, Man Ray, and others. List co-curated 32 Pieces: The Art of Chess, for the Reykjavik Art Museum and DOX Center for Art, Prague and contributed the major essay, “New Forms for a New Era,” to the catalogue. He contributed the essay “Chess As Art” to the catalogue of the Duchamp/Man Ray/Picabia exhibition at The Tate Modern, London and an essay on the chess-related performance work of Glenn Kaino for The Warhol Museum’s exhibition catalogue, “Transformer: The Work of Glenn Kaino.” The WCHOF relocated from Miami to Saint Louis, opening in its new home on September 9, 2011. The institution presents exhibitions of artistic and historical significance from collectors and nationally and internationally recognized artists. It also offers interpretive programs in areas such as dance, music and art that lend context and meaning to chess. Its exhibitions feature diverse items of historical and artistic significance and help visitors understand the game of chess as well as how it has impacted global culture. “It is such an honor to have what is arguably the most important chess set collection in the world on display at the World Chess Hall of Fame. This show continues to be a favorite of our visitors as it supports our mission of preserving and interpreting the game of chess and its continuing cultural and artistic significance” says Susan Barrett, director, WCHOF. The WCHOF also displays rotating exhibitions featuring items from its permanent collection, which comprises more than 3,000 pieces, as well as four temporary exhibitions per year. For more information, visit www.worldchesshof.org and follow the WCHOF on Facebook and Twitter.

Chess Collecting

It's easier than you might think to become a collector. In my house, I have the following chess sets: (1) a magnetized plastic mini-travel set; (2) an alabaster lathe-turned set and board; (3) a mahogony inlaid board and replica Lewis chess set; and (4) a carved wood set that rests inside a folding board. The style is what I would call "modern" and they are very tactile - I love playing chess with those pieces! I wasn't even trying to "collect" sets, LOL! The (1) set was received as a promotional gift back in 1999 when I joined the USCF. The (2) set was purchased on a whim one Christmas season when one of those temporary stores opened up in the mall downtown and I walked past it one day during lunch hour. I don't remember the exact price, but it was under $40. That sucker was heavy and it took me and a friend to lug it from the store back to the office, and from the office to her car after work! What a work-out! That was perhaps 6-7 years ago. As it sits in the family room off of the kitchen at the back of the house (a popular space), I've played a lot of games with that set. The (3) set was a gift I received in September, 2002 from a colleague on the occasion of both of our leaving a firm we'd worked together at for over 12 years. The (4) set was purchased in 2001 on a whim at Napoleon's, a store that carried all kinds of chess stuff (unfortunately, Napoleon's went out of business a couple of years later). I paid $80 for the set, the most money I've forked out for a set! I used to have a basic 12-inch wood board with the squares painted on, with machined but serviceable pieces that was purchased at a Kay-Bee Toy Store in 1999, but it was donated to a charity years ago. One wouldn't ordinarily think that this would be a contribution that would end up anywhere else than in the garbage can - but you would be surprised! Chess sets are regularly requested items at Christmas. My employer participates in a program - you've probably heard of or participated in something similar yourself - where a local organization aiding the disadvantaged is sponsored. Tags with requested gifts (priced $20 USD or less) are hung on a Christmas tree and you can pick a tag. You purchase the gift, wrap it, and put it under the tree. Prior to Christmas all of the donated gifts are delivered to the local charity and handed out to the recipients. I can always find a tag where a chess set is requested. (I have used the online shop that benefits the Susan Polgar Foundation, Inc. to purchase sturdy tournament-quality plastic sets and vinyl roll-up boards). I can see where the process of acquiring chess sets can become quite addicting! There are such gorgeous sets out there, each one more beautiful, or unique, or ugly or - whatever - than the next. The key to collecting, as it is to many other endeavors, is knowledge - and staying away from e-bay :) To acquire knowledge, hang around with people who have it, such as the folks who are members of Chess Collectors International. CCI puts out a quarterly newsletter that features articles on collecting and photographs of sets and other information, and holds a couple gatherings a year in different places all over the world. Read books on collecting and chess sets. Visit exhibits if you can. A lot of information is now available online (thank Goddess for the internet). I recommend you buy what "speaks" to you. My feeling is that if you buy what you like, you won't go wrong. That is the opposite, of course, of collectors who buy with an eye toward investing in something they hope will appreciate in value over time. Then, provenance, design, uniqueness of materials, rarity, etc. become important. So, you'll have to decide what kind of collector you'll be - and what your budget allows. One does not have to be a millionaire though, in order to start a collection of chess sets - as you can I've become something of an accidental "collector" myself and my family thinks I'm nuts! (Probably am...) Visit the online sites of Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses, for instance, do a search for "chess" and you'll see what I mean. Sets can be purchased at auction for under $100 USD, and many antique sets for between $100-200 USD. The sets that are pictured in this blog post are from auctions that Christie's held. Bonham's and other regional auction houses also regularly feature chess sets in their auctions. I sometimes visit the websites of my favorite auction houses and check out what they have coming up for sale or what recently sold. Sometimes I dig further back into the archives of past sales. Here are just a few from a sale at Christies.com that tickled my fancy: Sale 5198 furniture, carpets & decorative objects 30 October 2007 London, South Kensington Price Realized £75 ($154) Price includes buyer's premium (Three sets for the price of one!) A MEXICAN OBSIDIAN AND GLASS 'AZTEC' STYLE CHESS SET 20TH CENTURY With white and black marble inlaid board The king -- 4in. (10cm.) high; the pawn -- 2in. (5cm.) high; the board -- 13½in. (34.2cm.) wideTogether with a Mexican bone mounted lacquered wood chess set, second half 20th century; the king -- 5¼in. (13.3cm.) high; the pawn -- 3in. (7.5cm.) high; and a softwood and black lacquered wood 'Staunton' pattern chess set, second half 20th century, with painted finials; the king -- 4¼in. (10.8cm.) high; the pawn -- 2¼in. (5.7cm.) high (4) 30 October 2007 London, South Kensington Price realized £63 ($129) Price includes buyer's premium AN ENGLISH BONE 'OLD ENGLISH' PATTERN CHESS SET 19TH CENTURY The king -- 5½in. (14cm.) high; the pawn -- 1 7/8in. (4.8cm.) high Together with an English bone 'old English' pattern chess set, 19th century; the king -- 2¼in. (5.7cm.) high; the pawn -- 1 1/8in. (2.8cm.) high (2)

Chess Collectors International

CCI completes its Sixth Western Hemisphere meeting today: SIXTH WESTERN HEMISPHERE CCI MEETING Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24, 2009 PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY Susan Polgar has several photos from the CCI meeting at her blog. Next up, a meeting in Germany: German Chess Collector's Meeting from June 19th to 21st, 2009 in Naumburg, Germany

Chess Set Exhibition: Detroit Institute of Arts

Exhibition Master Pieces: Chess Sets from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection December 26, 2008 - May 17, 2009 (Photo: butterfly piece from exhibition) This exhibition includes more than two dozen sets from the world-renowned collection of Dr. George and Vivian Dean. Ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries, these chess sets represent exquisite examples from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Featuring a wide range of materials and designs, the pieces and boards demonstrate how differently artists throughout history and across the globe have interpreted the game of chess. The artists’ superb craftsmanship and creativity are explored, with sections featuring ivory and porcelain examples, including sets by Sèvres and Meissen. Some sets include tiny insects, sea creatures, and a variety of precious bejeweled objects. Several themes are explored in the exhibition, including the ideological oppositions that the game of chess has been used to evoke, such as Good vs. Evil or Communism vs. Capitalism; the fascinating stories of set ownership, such as one commissioned from Fabergé and another once owned by Catherine the Great; and the variety of artistic styles, including abstract and modern. Some of the modern artists featured are Man Ray and Salvador Dalí. This exhibition has been generously supported by Dr. George and Vivian Dean. Additional support has been provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the City of Detroit.

Want to Buy an Ancient Chess Piece?

I envy collectors who have the funds to buy the things they want. Sigh. There are beautiful chess sets available at auction. I look through the catalogs and see things I’d love to buy for $1,000 to $2,000. If only! Then, of course, there are the rare pieces that fetch $60,000 USD. You can find these at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. For great lot sales, though, check out Bloomsbury.

The question is why I feel drawn to these antique pieces? Part of it is because of my great love for history, especially ancient history. I’ve been fascinated by ancient cultures since I first learned to read. Part of it is the "story" I imagine behind each and every piece I see. Well, that’s always been the tension – tell stories and starve, or work for a living. I should have gone for a Ph.D in history and become a professor. Oh well.

One of my favorite places to visit from time to time is BC Galleries in Australia. I haven’t purchased anything from them but – maybe some day.

These are two lovely affordable pieces circa 1000 year old pieces, described as:
Two early Islamic bone game pieces, most probably chess pieces, each with concentric circle designs.
Origin: Circa 10th-12th century CE Afghanistan.
Dimensions: Height of each 3.7 cm
Price: AUD $575 USD $479

Maybe someday.