The first European chessmen

Les premiers jeux d'échecs européens

Quoi de neuf ?

Mes livres

Histoire des échecs

Variantes

Liens

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Mozarab chess pieces known as "the pieces of San Genadio". Ivory. Preserved in the Mozarabic monastery of Santiago de Peñalba (Leon/ Spain). Dated at least from the first years of the 10th century, and very likely from the 9th century. (Many thanks to regretted Dr Ricardo Calvo)


Pieces from San Rosenda de Celanova (province of Orense, Galicia, Spain), rock crystal, 10th c.

Pieces from San Millan de la Cogolla (La Rioja, Spain), rock crystal, 10th c. 

 

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The Ager set: Mozarab chess set, rock-crystal, Museu de Lleida Diocesa I Comarcal, Spain, late 9th c - beg. 11th c.

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 King and Queen from the same set found at church of San Pere of Ager near Urgel, Catalonia, beg 11th c.

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Knight found in Europe (where?) and made in arabic style, 8th-9th c. (!?) according to C. Schafroth , ivory, Musée du Louvre, Paris

 

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 Scandinavian Knight, ivory,
9 / 10th c., Musée de Cluny, Paris
 

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Rook, from castel of Freteval, Loir et Cher, France (thanks to François Houdebert).

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Same piece with a better view to this strange face on the side 


Chariot, deer bone or antler,
10th c., found at Loisy,
Musée des Ursulines,Mâcon

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 King (?), deer bone or antler,
10th c., found at Loisy,
Musée des Ursulines,Mâcon


 Rook, deer bone,
978-1070,
Pineuilh, Gironde, France

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Kneeled piece (Pawn?),
978-1070, Pineuilh, Gironde, France

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Rook, rock-crystal,
Late 9th - beg. 11th c.,
Domschatzkammer, Osnabrück

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 Queen, hazeltree wood,
1008-1010,
Paladru Lake
Colletière, Charavines, Isère, France

 

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Aufin (Bishop), wood,
1008-1010, Paladru Lake
Colletière, Isère, France

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Rukh (Rook), bone,
1008-1010, Paladru Lake
Colletière, Isère, France

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 Italian Chess pieces, bone with ivory topping, late 10th c., found at Venafro, Campania, Italy and once considered the oldest European pieces, Museo archeologico di Napoli . Read a paper (in Italian) from Gianfelice Ferlito

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 Whale bone chessmen,
Late 11th c., found at Witchampton, Dorset

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Chess piece from a private collection. Bone. Maybe a King or a Queen. See beside for more views. Estimated 11th c.collection
(Collection Nicolas Devigne)

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Scandinavian Chess pieces,
bone, Beginning 11th c. (or 12th?),
Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum

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Scandinavian Knight, Bishop, Pawn,
deer bone, Beginning 11th c.,
Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum

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 South Italian Elephant,
elephant ivory, Late 11th c.,
Musée du Louvre, Paris

 

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 From a Byzantin wreck, wood?, Serçe Limani, Anatolian coast (Turkey), 11th c.

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 Scandinavian or German Chessmen, deer bone, found at Ilot des Deux-Bornes, around Noyon, Oise
Beg 12th c., Musée du Noyonnais, Noyon, France

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Osnabrück set, wrongly said "Charlemagne" (another one!), 12th c, rock-crystal.
 

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 Scandinavian Chess pieces: Knight, King, King and Rook
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy
 

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King, ivory,
11th c., South of Italia
Musée du Louvre, Paris  

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Rook (Tower), ivory,
late 11th c (or 14th?).,Italy
Museo Nazionale del Bargello,
Florence, Italy

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King, ivory
12th c, France
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy

 

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The "Charlemagne set", elephant ivory, South Italia, Late 11th c,
Bibliothèque Nationale - Cabinet des Médailles, Paris
 

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 South Italian Kings, black and red, front and back-side
elephant ivory, beg. 12th c.,
Museo Bargello, Florence, Italy
 

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South Italian Vizier, elephant ivory,
Beginning 12th c., Bibliothèque Nationale - Cabinet des Médailles, Paris
 

 

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 Queen, Spain, an Kings, ivory, 12th c.,
Wlaters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

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South Italian Queen, ivory,
Beginning 12th c., Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Skulpturensammlung

 

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Two Knights, French art 12th c.,
Museo Bargello, Florence, Italy

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German King, bone or antler,
found at Dorf Langenbogen near Mansfeld (Saxony)
Mid 12th c., ex-von Hirsch coll. 

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 Scandinavian Kong, whale ivory,
Late 12th c., Musée du Louvres, Paris

 

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French Roc (Rook), both faces, elephant ivory,
Mid 12th c, Musée du Louvre, Paris

click to see more about the Lewis set

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The "Lewis set", King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Warder, Pawn., walrus tusk
Scandinavian (Trondheim ?), Mid 12th c, British Museum, London

 

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Islamic-style Elephant (Bishop), Spain or Sicily, 12th c., ivory
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Alfil (Bishop), wrongly announced as a Knight, castel of Metaplana, circa Ripoll, Catalunya, Spain, 13th c., ivory, (thanks to Alejandro Melchor)

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The same piece and a dice,
castel of Metaplana, circa Ripoll, Catalunya, Spain, 13th c., ivory (thanks to Alejandro Melchor)

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 Chessmen excavated from river Thames, England, 13th c : bone King, wood King, unidentified (Queen?), Bishop on top. Bishop, bone King side and above view showing the hollow..

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 Scandinavian Bishop, walrus ivory,
Beginning 13th c., Copenhagen,
Nationalmuseum (The holes in
the eyes were filled by jewels)

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Knight, walrus ivory,
England, 13th c.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England 

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Queen on horseback, walrus ivory,
Denmark, 13th c.
Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen

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King or Queen (?), Yorkshire, England, 14th c.

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 Bishop, ivory,
14th c., Germany
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum
Munich, Germany  

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 King (I doubt, it should be a Queen), ivory, 14th c., Danmark
Copenhagen, Nationalmuseum

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 Queen on horseback, walrus ivory,
Denmark, 14th c.
Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen

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 Wooden Queen known as the "Bryggens Madonna" which has shrinked since it has been exposed to air, Bergen Museum, Norway

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 The "Bryggens Madonna" photographied just when it has been exhumed from damp layers.
14th c., Bergen, Norway


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King, ivory, front and back-side
from Ravenne, Italy
13th c., Museo Bargello, Florence, Italy

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Common bone chess set from 14th c., Scandinavia, Musée National du Moyen-Âge, Cluny, France

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Bishop, walrus tusk, Northern Europe, 14th c.
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

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Knight, Northern Europe, 14th c.
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

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King, ivory, Germany, 14th c.,
private collection

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Bishop, walrus tusk, Germany, 14th c.,
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

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Bishop, ivory, Southern Germany, 14th c.,
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
 

The images and photographs shown on this page are coming from the following sources :

The authors of theses works, books and photographs, are kindly acknowledged.
If there is any problem with their presence here, please do
mail me.

Many thanks to Thierry Depaulis and François Leysour de Rohello for pointing many illustrations to me
Thanks also to Eric Verdel for informations about the Charavines-Colletière pieces
Thanks also to Antoine Fourrière for pointing out the pieces from Pineuilh
and to Nicolas Devigne for the piece from his collection
Many thanks to Alejandro Melchor for providing me valuable information
Thanks to Pierre Mille for the Serçe Limani photograph
 

15/04/08