Description
Anglo-Dutch Reproduction Chessmen.
Offered here is a new set Anglo-Dutch Reproduction Chessmen. This magnificent reproduction is offered in Boxwood and Gaboon Ebony. The King stands an impressive 4-1/2” tall with a base diameter of 1-1/2”. These exquisite Anglo-Dutch Reproduction Chessmen use my proprietary brass weighting system for ballast and stability. Each of the chessmen is cushioned on a green baize base pad with the Kings resting atop gold-embossed Black English leather discs. This set is part of the Frank Camaratta Signature Series and is limited to a total production run of only 12 sets. These majestic chessmen are best played and displayed on a chessboard with 2-3/8″ or 2-1/2″ squares. This is a new set. Images show a comparison between the originals and the reproduction.
History. Between the late 1700s and the mid-1800s, many sets from Germany and the Netherlands found their way into the English market. These included the more delicate Selenus designs, among others, that showed elaborate craftsmanship, but lacked board presence and stability.
Anglo-Dutch Original Chessmen
The Anglo-Dutch chessmen were a response by the more talented British carvers to the growing English market demand for elaborately carved chessmen normally offered by Dutch and German importers but having the requisite stability to be used for practical play. That led to a class of chessmen often referred to as Anglo-Dutch. The Anglo-Dutch chessmen have the more elaborate and delicate carving features normally associated with chess pieces produced in Germany and The Netherlands but are enhanced for practical play be the addition of stout, heavily armed English-style Rooks, Expressive Knight heads and the traditional Bishop’s miter. These sets lack the more traditional English Formeé and Maltese cross. Sets like these would have been obtained from the workshops of George Merrifield as well as Thomas Lund between 1800 and 1820.
