PROBABLY INDIA OR CENTRAL ASIA, 12TH-14TH CENTURY

Although the game of chess achieved wide popularity across the Middle East, a few early chess pieces survive. For a discussion on early Islamic chess pieces see A. Contadini: 'Islamic Ivory Chess Pieces, Draughtsman and Dice' in Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, ed. James Allan, Oxford, 1995, Part I, pp.111-154. This early trio of chess pieces is extremely rare in that they almost certainly come from the same chess set. These zoomorphic shapes can be compared to a glass chess piece sold at Sotheby's, 9 April 2008, lot 89.