Isle of Lewis ceramic raku chess set

Magnificent Isle of Lewis ceramic chess set made using the ancestral Japanese Raku technique.

A piece from the Zeusi art gallery in Brugherio, Italy.

The chess set comes with a certificate of authenticity certifying its provenance, its manufacture using the Raku technique, and the fact that it was crafted and decorated entirely by hand.

The board measures 42.4 x 42.4 cm.

The king measures 10 cm and the pawns 3.2 cm.

The set was inspired by a 12th-century set of pieces, the Isle of Lewis set, one of the most original and iconic designs in the world of chess.

The original pieces were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and are kept in London at the British Museum.

RAKU is a technique that originated in Japan in the second half of the 1500s. The technique involves heating the object to a very high temperature and, unlike traditional ceramics, removing it from the kiln while it is still incandescent and immersing it in cold water or leaving it at room temperature.

This process achieves the desired results but leaves a certain amount of lightness and randomness in the final effect, with unexpected nuances in the glazes.

The raku technique does not allow for any type of mold. Each piece is always original.

A rare chess set, the pieces feature the Lardy brand design but are made of ceramic. I don’t know if the set was made directly by the brand or by an amateur, but I have already found another identical set of ceramic pieces with Lardy design, which suggests that this is not a unique model and that these sets were produced somewhere during a certain period. The board is also made of ceramic.

The pieces have been painted in a sandy beige and bright red, the king measures 8.8 cm and the pawns 4.7 cm. The board measures 33 x 33 cm it features decorative patterns on its squares and a thick border adorned with stripes and floral decorations. Underneath the board, there are six big felts to support its weight. The whole weighs 3.8 kilograms. The game has been finely crafted and sparkles beautifully in the light, a magnificent but mysterious piece. Despite extensive research, I wasn’t able to find its origin.

Sublime Soviet porcelain chess set. Made in Russia RSFSR in the city of Kislovodsk in the northern Caucasus. The set dates from the 1980s. The design was presented during the “Porcelain in the USSR” exhibition in 1989 in Bonn, Germany, during Mikhail Gorbachev’s diplomatic visit.

The set comes with storage cases for the pieces. The king measures 10 cm with a base of 3.2 cm. The pawns measure 5 cm. The pieces are felted with octagonal bases.

Half of the pieces are porcelain white, while the other half has been tinted with a darker blue nuance. They are decorated with polychrome glaze painting with gold accents. Other details, such as the king’s boots and the front of the bishops’ capes, allow both sides of the pieces to be distinguished.

The pieces are very beautiful, with their sparkling porcelain appearance, brightly colored paintings, and glazes. They represent traditional Georgian costumes. The kings wear papakha hats on their heads, traditional embroidered Georgian coats, bashlyk scarves, and carry traditional Cossack khanjali daggers. The queens wear traditional dresses called kartuli, and their headdresses feature a lechaki veil and a kopi cushion. The horsemen are a reference to dzhigit horsemen. The pawns are seated Cossacks.

A chess set with hand-painted porcelain pieces. The pieces come with a foldable wooden board, the inside of which contains individual storage compartments for the pieces. The board measures 34 x 18 x 7 cm and has a padded interior. The tallest piece measures 5.4 cm high and 3.4 cm wide. The smallest piece measures 3.9 cm. The unique feature of this set is the oval shape and aesthetic of its egg-shaped pieces. This design blends perfectly with the aspect of the sparkling white porcelain.

The set dates back to the 1980s and was designed with a medieval theme, featuring crowned kings and pawns armed with shields and swords. The rooks are war elephants. The board measures 45.9 x 45.9 x 8.4 cm. The king is 8 cm tall with a base of 3.9 cm. An original design in painted porcelain with beautiful bright colors that catch the eye.