Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1976.7 |
Object Name |
Chess |
Title |
Chess Pieces |
Artist |
Unknown |
Date |
1750-80 |
Description |
Thirty-two chess pieces of turned fruitwood. One set of sixteen is either of a darker wood or stained. The brown set is slightly taller than the white set. The chess board (1976.8) is not original to the pieces. |
Label |
Franklin loved chess, playing it with friends as a social game in Philadelphia, London, and Paris. Ideas and images derived from the game occur throughout his writings. This set descended through his daughter Sarah to her great-great-great grandson Morris Duane, who gave it to the APS in 1976. French chess sets of this period have a distinctive form of knight; the top disk is sliced on two sides to form a point, instead of a horse's head. |
Material |
Pearwood (possibly) |
Dimensions |
H-3.5 inches |
Dimension Details |
Tallest piece |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Morris Duane, 1976. |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century Founding Father game France |