Description
Antique Canton Ivory Chessmen, Circa 1850.
Offered here is an important set of Antique Canton ivory chessmen, one army left natural, the other stained a rich cochineal red. The King stands a full 4-1/4″ tall with a 1-3/4″ diameter base. Each piece rests on a deeply undercut foliate pedestal. The red stain remains strong and vibrant. Included in this sale is an accurate reproduction of the original Leuchars Carton-Pierre chessboard.
These chessmen were carved in Canton for the European trade and almost certainly sold through Macao. They are not English. The King’s finial unscrews and shows an Eastern thread profile, not an English screw. That single workshop detail settles origin
A Canton hybrid, not a standard Burmese set.
The bishops follow the thin, faceless mitre of so-called Burmese-pattern Type I export work — a Canton shop habit, not a London Staunton flame-miter. The Kings and Queens, by contrast, wear English crowns and coronets with cross and ball finials. The Rooks are brickwork towers without flags. The Knights are the diagnostic piece, the one that establishes the earliest date of production.
The Leuchars knight and the date.
The Knight heads bear a striking resemblance to the earliest ivory Staunton knights sold by William Leuchars of Piccadilly after Nathaniel Cooke’s September 1849 registration. That specific Leuchars knight -head had a very short life: it appears on sets sold between late 1849 and early 1850, after which the more familiar classic Staunton knight took over. The form on this set is consistent with a Canton workshop copying that first Leuchars model. Manufacture in 1849 is possible but unlikely; 1850 is the sound date.
The set is therefore a documented hybrid: Burmese-pattern bishop, English royal tops, brick rook, and a Leuchars-type knight, all on Canton foliate bases.
Box and board.
The chessmen are housed in a later black-lacquer replacement box with a gilt geometric clasp and a printed Chinese-character paper lining. The lined box is not original to the set.
A reproduction Leuchars Carton-Pierre chessboard is included in the sale. It follows the Piccadilly Leuchars pattern — red and cream squares, gilt arcade border, and the Leuchars / Piccadilly inscriptions — and is the board shown with the chessmen in the photographs. It is an accurate reproduction, not a period Leuchars board. The chessmen play and display best on this board, or on any board with 2-1/8″ to 2-1/4″ squares.
Antique elephant ivory. Buyers are responsible for knowing the ivory laws in their jurisdiction. A CITES permit may be required for export.
