Chessmen (32)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The shapes of the pieces are identical on the two sides, except for the kings and queens. The workmanship of the rooks and pawns is especially fine. The bishops, as is customary in French sets, are "fous" (idiots or fools), wearing jester's cap and belled collar. The white king may be meant to represent King Ferdinand of Spain, which would support the theory that this set represents the reconquest of Spain from the Moors, and was intended for the Spanish market.

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