The Origins of Chess

Identification of the Ashmolean chess pieces
Two of the twelve pieces in the Ashmolean Museum belong to style set A (nos 8, 9) and ten to style set B (nos 1-7, 10-12).

1-4. There are grounds for thinking that four of the ten pieces in set B belong to the same set (figs 12, 13, 14. 15): a King or Queen (no.1) and three smaller pieces identical in size, which are likely to be Pawns (nos 2-4). Not only is the shape of these four pieces identical but also the quality and colour of the ivory Further they share the same decoration, consisting of horizontal incised lines above the (p. 118) base and at the base of the knob. The whole group is comparable to three pieces in the British Museum (fig.16), (28) of which the largest is probably a King or Queen, the two smaller pieces being almost certainly Pawns.

It is worth noting in this connexion that both the Islamic ivory chess pieces in the Ashmolean and those in the Medieval and Later Antiquities Department of the British Museum were acquired by the Revd. G.J. Chester.

5. King (fig 17). This is inlaid with metal wire and practically identical in shape, decoration and quality of ivory to BM Dalton 591 (fig.18). However, the Ashmolean piece is a little bigger (height 4.icm, as against 3.6 cm). It is therefore reasonable to assume that they come from the same set, and that the smaller of them is a Queen. They could well be from the same set as two other pieces inlaid with bands of metal wire, Dalton 581 and 582 (figs 10, 20): even the quality of the ivory appears to be the same.

6. Bishop, or possibly a Knight (fig.21). It fits well into the repertoire of Bishops and Knights of the second style. It may be a Bishop because of the roundish top. It is similar to BM Dalton 581 and 582 (figs 19, 20).

7. Rook (fig.22), is similar to BM Dalton 607 and 609 (figs 23, 24).

8. Rook (fig.25), belonging to style set A.

9. Rook (fig.26), belonging to style set A.

10. Probably a Pawn {fig.27). It is so similar to BM Dalton 592 (fig.28) that the two could readily belong to the same set. The fact that they are identical in size (height 3.8 cm) may be taken as evidence that they are Pawns. The next two pieces are harder to identify, as their shapes are less well defined.

11. King, Queen or Pawn (fig.29). It has a cylindrical shape with incised circles over the top forming a sort of grape cluster. The use of incised double circles as a decorative device is very common in Islamic chess pieces and dice. A comparable piece is BM inv. no. 83.6-21.71, hitherto unpublished fig. 30). This has both the same shape and the same type of decorative circle over the top, but because of the absence of others from the set the type cannot be easily defined. See also BM Dalton 601 (fig.31)

12. Perhaps a Pawn (fig.32), given the simplicity in shape and decoration. There is a slight possibility that it is a Rook, since in some later sets the Rook becomes relatively short, and has a flattish top, often like a mushroom.(29) See also BM 83.6-21.70 (fig.33).

Dating the Ashmolean chess pieces
None of the twelve chess pieces in the Ashmolean Museum comes from a datable archaeological context. All were brought by the Revd G.J. Chester (30) in the second half of the nineteenth century: some from Cairo, others from an unknown provenance. A chronology of the development of shapes of Islamic chess pieces has been

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attempted in this article, but it must be emphasized that the evidence is limited and not always easy to interpret. It is fortunate, therefore, that a radiocarbon examination has been carried out on five of the Ashmolean pieces,(31) providing an additional check on the results of stylistic analysis.

The analysis of the Ashmolean ivories therefore provides'an important point of reference for pieces in other collections, especially those in the Oriental and Medieval and Later Antiquities Departments of the British Museum, several of which are very similar and were donated by the same person.

Let us consider the two Ashmolean Rooks, nos 8 and 9. These belong to style set A, which appears early on in the Nishapur pieces (ninth century), with a majority of examples from the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries (see Appendix I). The radiocarbon examination gave the result of AD 1060-1395 for no.8 and AD 630-895 for no. 9, thus confirming the development of shapes explained above.

A radiocarbon examination was also carried out on no. 6, a Bishop or Knight, belonging to style set B. We have seen from the discussion of shape that this form of Bishop emerges fairly late. It appears sporadically in miniatures of the fifteenth century, but only becomes common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.32 The radiocarbon examination confirmed the range proposed: AD 1470-1950.

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Two other pieces have been examined by radiocarbon accelerator The first no. 1, is the King or Queen of four pieces all belonging to style set B. The analysis is therefore valid for all of them. The second piece is no 7, also from style set B For both, the analysis gave an approximate date of AD 1410-1650, thus confirming the result reached through an analysis of style.

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