A jade and gold-koftgari steel inlaid chess board
North India, 19th Century
of square form on four ball feet, the spinach jade and brown hardstone board set within a steel frame decorated in gold overlay with an undulating floral vine, the squares inlaid with mother of pearl flowerheads, purple velvet backing; the pieces carved in green and brown hardstone with silver finials
the board 45.3 x 45.3 cm.(33)
Footnotes:
The history of chess can largely be divided into three periods, originating in India with the ancient Hindu game of Chaturanga, followed by the medieval Shatranj and concluding with the modern game as we now know it, which first emerged at the beginning of the 16th Century. From the start of the 19th Century, there was a large demand for decorative chess sets, commissioned by Western traders from Indian exporters. Inlaid flowers, stars, arabesques and figures often feature on Indian chessboards, as demonstrated by the floral motifs in this example. For further discussion see V. Keats, Chessmen for Collectors, London, 1985.

An example of a 19th Century Indian jade chess table can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (48.174.70).