Among the Rarest of Porcelains

A PRICLESS TREASURE - As reported in Chess Life and Review Magazine - April 1973

When the President (Nixon) of the United States announced a visit (1972) to Russia, the search for a gift of State began. An idea came to the artists of CYBIS in Trenton, New Jersey. Just as baseball is America's national pastime, so chess has been considered the Russian National Game. The Cybis artists, who have been creating exquisite porcelain sculptures for more than thirty years decided to design a chess set. The White House agreed and the work began. The task was enormous - not one but thirty-two individually sculptured porcelains. Their inspiration was the 14th century Hero Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The resulting porcelains are rare treasures. The figures are each mounted on golden pedestals, which are encrusted with jewels. We see a plumed knight in armor complete with visored helmet, golden sword and full panoplied horse. The rook is a crenelated stone tower with a page peering from the top and a court lady in cowled headdress framed in the turret below. The King and Queen are robed in Byzantine splendor. The queen holds a hooded falcon; the folds of her embroidered gown gently caress her figure as she sits with her head bowed in shy response. The bearded king is attentively erect as though of some ambush that might befall him ahead. From his gold crown to his ballet poised armored feet, he is regal. From his jeweled pedestal to his 18 karat golden pennant, he is majestic. The dignity of the bishop is personified by a psalter in his right hand and in his left a golden crozier. The pawn is a medieval bowman. He wears a falcon embroidered on his jerkin and carries a bow and quiver of arrows slung around his hips.

For the brocaded decorations of the garments Cybis artists employed jewel-like enamels, an ancient art which the Russians practiced as early as the third century. The first set made was presented as a gift from the United States to the Soviet Union in 1972 and a second one was donated by the manufacturer to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Thereafter a limited edition of ten sets were made.