Description
Indo-British Porcelain Military Chess Pieces.
Offered here is a set of Indo-British Porcelain Military Chess Pieces. The Kings stand 2.9″ tall with a 1.1” diameter base. Each piece is gold gilt-trimmed with black painted appointments. The two armies are identical and are differentiated by black trim. The set likely represents late 19th century British military officers and royalty as the ranking pieces. Based on their outfits, the Gurkhas or East Indian Sepoy Regiment soldiers were modeled as Pawns. The Limoge chessboard shown here is not included, but a suitable chessboard can be found here. The chessmen are in like new condition and date to the 20th Century.
BACKGROUND
‘Gurkha’ is a term that refers to Gurkha soldiers from Nepal who have served or are serving in the British Army. They have been part of the British Army since 1815.
Gurkhas come from Nepal, a landlocked country with China to the North and India to the South. Traditionally Gurkhas were recruited from four ethnic groups in Nepal: the Gurungs and Magars from central Nepal and the Rais and Limbus from eastern Nepal. Nowadays, Gurkhas come from all parts of Nepal to join the British Army, but the majority of recruits are still predominantly from these four ethnic groups.
Gurkhas first encountered the British in the Gurkha War of 1814-1816 which ended, not just in stalemate, but with an abiding sense of mutual respect and admiration between the two sides. The Peace Treaty that ended the war enabled Gurkhas to serve in the East India Company’s army which, in turn became part of the British Army.
Since then, the Gurkhas have served all over the world. More than 200,000 fought in the two World Wars and in the past 50 years they have fought with distinction in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan.
