Chess and other Games Pieces from Islamic Lands

'Stunning' - Arab Weekly

A beautiful guide to one of the world’s most spectacular collections of ancient chess and games pieces

Among the many treasures of the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, which are housed in the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah - a part of the Kuwait National Museum, are hundreds of chess and other games pieces dating from the 7th to the 19th centuries CE. Intricately crafted in a rich variety of materials, including ivory, wood, ceramic, glass, jade and agate, these tiny objects are of enormous historical and artistic significance. They not only mark the evolution of familiar games into their modern forms but also evoke the imperial palaces, military camps and herders' tents in which they were played over many centuries, from the Sasanian period through the Islamic era in Central Asia, Iran, present-day Iraq and northern India.

The chess pieces include both early figural sets and the more abstract forms that later became popular throughout the Islamic world. Dice, pachesi sets and a medieval Arabic treatise on chess complete the collection.

Details

• Author: Deborah Freeman Fahid
• Pages: 344 pages | 300 illustrations
• Date published: May 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-0500970911 - Hardcover
             978-0500970928 - Paperback
• Product Dimensions: 28.7 x 23.2 cm