Chessmen (32) and box-board

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Each piece has a number from 1 to 32 wheel-engraved on the base, a feature noted in other German sets. The workmanship is typically German, and the horses are well modeled. A box of black Morocco leather, with brass mounts and gold tooling is en suite; it opens flat to reveal a hinged board with storage for the chessmen beneath. The set has been attributed to the Hohenzollerns, and although there is no proof for the suggestion, a symbol with words underneath, which would have indicated the original owner, has been obliterated from the box.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art