SET OF THE MONTH
Everyone loves a great deal! And each month The Chess Schach, or rather, my dear wife Angie (as this was her idea!) will select a listing from THE GALLERY to feature as our SET OF THE MONTH. This entitles you, our dearest customer, to a 10% discount on the asking price, which, of course, already comes with our complimentary free shipping!
My heart can’t take Angie’s ideas I tell ya!!
**addendum … it is February 2021 and I have taken control of the SET OF THE MONTH (insert evil laugh here!). It was my idea, after all. My selections may not be based on the eye of an artist or the brain of a chess nerd, but I’m looking forward to choosing a new one every month from the heart. This time, it’s personal. Hope you like them! – Angie
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ANGIE’S PICK FOR SET OF THE MONTH
Terra Admirari (Wonderland); 32 original Studio Anne Carlton chess pieces without board, natural stone vs. burgundy, poly-resin crushed stone, English, artistically restored/hand-painted, c.1985-1990
King Height: 3 1/2” or 87mm, weight 60g
Queen: 3 1/2” or 87mm, wt. 36g
Bishop: 3” or 76mm, wt. 32g
Knight: 3” or 76mm, wt. 60g
Rook: 2 1/4” or 58cm, wt. 38g
Pawns: 2” or 51mm, wt. 15g
W: gently antiqued flamingo pink felt pads; B: same
This Alice in Wonderland set has travelled with me for nigh on forty years and was part of my collection that emigrated from London to Toronto with me in 1997. One white rabbit (pawn) lost its ears on that journey, an incident that hurled me headfirst down the rabbit hole of chess set restoration – and what a journey that’s been!
The factory-line, hand-painted AiW sets I’ve seen over the years have always left me miffed and less than impressed. Why was the palette so bland? Where was the life – the fun and frivolity? Sadly, the restrictions of mass production unfortunately meant that the SAC artists had one hand tied behind their backs – which I’m happy to report wasn’t the case with this project!
I was familiar with the hand-painted, water-coloured prints taken from the original John Tenniel illustrations for the 1865 novel; the palette was light and airy, making much use of the pale blues and white creamy hues of Alice’s iconic dress. And this would be my inspiration for the light pieces, working hand-in-hand with the naturally coloured faux-stone finish of the moulded originals, subtly highlighted with glimpses of iridescent gold.
The dark pieces were partially inspired by Tim Burton’s equally dark version of the AiW novel (starring Johnny Depp as the orange-haired Mad Hatter). The original burgundy colour of the pieces is brought to life with purples, pinks and scarlet reds. The detail work is difficult to capture on camera, as I make use of many different sheens combined with aged, antiqued bronze highlights – and like Lewis Carroll’s novel, there is a surprise around every corner – which you can discover for yourself…
The pieces are naturally weighted and very comfortable in hand over the board. As mentioned, a few chipped ears have been restored by taking casts of the original (a process documented on my social posts – see The Chess Schach page on FB or IG). An ugly chip has also been restored on the rear base of one black bishop. All these minor fixes are solid and completely invisible.
For more details about this gorgeous set, please click here