Ceramic chess set

Hello folks, I've just come across the site, it's lovely to find an active, helpful community.

I'm not much of a chess player but I'm very keen on getting into the game.

I am however, a ceramicist and I'm currently working on modelling a chess set of my own that I will be producing in the future. It's a slow process but incredibly enjoyable, reading up on the history of the game, there is a lot of inspiration to draw from there.

Here are some photos of my pieces in progress:

The Bishop

The Knight is nearly finished:

I'll keep updating this thread with my progress if anyone is interested

I like the your Bishop and the knight. Of course they would not be able to be used in competition, since they are different than traditional.

They don't have bases on them and i wonder if they would tip over.

Good luck on your project.

King:

Thanks DENVERHIGH, I realise this won't be a competition set, but I've made sure to design the pieces so they will feel steady when moving them around.

For example, the knight has a robe that drapes to the ground at the back which creates a larger footprint.

I'll also be designing a motif to carve on the King's shield. At the moment, I'm thinking about using a pattern that features on some of the Lewis chess pieces as an homage.

Queen:

IMHO. . . .

All the pieces probably need a circular base for stability. . . .

Also they should fit on 2" squares. . . .

DENVER

likes the King & Queen

I like this very much however at the moment the top of the King confuses me by resembling a Lewis Rook. For me a good design is successful if it is novel or beautiful and if you can tell which piece is which. These designs are not standard but have a simple beauty and mostly I can tell what they are supposed to be without a second thought, although they do remind me a lot of Lewis pieces as well something like the Anri/Lowe King Arthur set or other Val Gardina stuff a little bit. About my confusion on the King signature I will have to see the rest of the pieces/the whole set together to see if it becomes clear.

Really nice work!

Thanks for the feedback tmkroll.

I would have loved to give the King a traditional crown, but I will be making moulds for each of the pieces and in order to keep it simple, I've designed everything to work with a two piece mould.

The king and queen are physically the biggest pieces on the board, so I'm hoping there won't be too much confusion there.

I've embellished the king's shield with a pattern. This decoration comes from the back of the king's throne on the Lewis chess set as a little nod to the past. Modified only slightly to fit the shield shape.

A little update everyone. I'm nearly finished this set, I just have the rooks and pawns to complete.

I think it's coming along nicely.

Wow that's amazing!

nteresting and impressive.  But I would prefer to see a Knight on a horse, or simply a horse, as the knight...

or maybe something inspired by these...

http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/isle-of-lewis-chessmen?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=isle%20of%20lewis%20chessmen

http://www.isleoflewischessset.co.uk/lewis-design.html

http://www.checkmatechesssets.com/i/SAC%20Close%20ups/RIMG0077.JPG

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=336270001&objectid=6203

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=285738001&objectid=6203

Nevertheless, what you have done is very cool....!

By the way.  In case you decide to become more actively engaged in learning the game...the following may be of interest...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

(I don't possess your talent, but I do enjoy studying chess books!)...

Thanks RussBell, I researched ancient chess sets extensively while designing this one. While I do love the Lewis chess pieces, I decided not to go with the horse because I would have had to make it to a different scale than the other figures. The horse would have to be squashed to fit into the square and would have looked crude next to the others.

In this case, I decided to stick with a historically appropriate knight figure from around the high middle ages.

Also, thanks for the book recommendations, I'll be checking some of them out.

Those look great.

How tall are they?

 Thanks, the queen is the tallest piece, she is 95mm tall (3.7 inches).

Taus -

I completely understand, and had thought about that as well....

In any case, your pieces are very well executed (sculpted)...!

As for the rook, you might want to read the history of the rook here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(chess) 

(I think you may have to copy-paste this URL into the browser search/address box in order to get to the correct webpage - i.e., when I simply click on it, it brings me to different page than the one I had copied it from..something strange with the way either my browser or wikipedia handles the link)...

nice pieces!