Festive Kitsch

Another unplanned purchase… and local find … if ‘local find’ is a one hr drive away, last night! I think this was a shop display piece … it’s hard to understand the provenance other than the shop was closing down - and it wasn’t a chess shop. 

In this instance, I was attracted to the large board of a colour/wood that I did not have. From sketchy online pictures, it looked an ok board - of good quality but not in the top tier of boards and being second hand, seemed ok value for the price of a good bottle of wine.

The bonus, if one calls it that - was the pieces that came with it. It’s coming to Xmas and it’s a festive set … with the king as Santa, xmas trees as bishops and a flying horse as a reindeer!!? It’s all a bit kitsch but - it works - quite well! Of course, it is primarily a figural display set but it is playable for a slow game and a bit of festive fun. 

Further I think the dark side is perhaps ebony its colour variation reminds me of Kamagong wood but it’s not that.

With a King at 5 1/2 inches high and 130gms it’s quite heavy; 30% heavier than the white pieces which I imagine are boxwood.

Having now bought it home and looking looking into it … it seems a similar set is produced by The Chess Empire - albeit with reindeer as knights but other than that - it appears similar. It’s definitely made in India and has that ingrained red dust on some of the pieces that sometimes shows through in pieces I source from there.

As much as such pieces must take time to carve, it’s perhaps not as refined as something Oleg would do … but nor is it at Oleg’s price point - even new from TCE. 

Anyway - a bit of fun and a different set to add to the collection. Here’s some pictures from last night and then in natural light this morning.

a very nice find, I like them.  KItsch?  Sure, a little bit, but we all need some kitsch in our lives.  

Great score! Set & board look very nice and that themed set just has an "it factor" that many themed sets do not.

I can't imagine what "cheap wine" you drink,but none around my parts look like they come close to the price of what that set imbues.

Yes - “je ne sais quoi” - is an excellent phrase … it is a pleasing set and … I am not sure why … but I’m glad I ventured out and took a risk …
… my wife is a good barometer and she gave an air of surprised approval when I set it up after returning from a long drive last night… a nod and a smile and a passing “that works…”👍

Magic - perhaps I understated the value … this setup was circa USD65 depending on the exchange rate at any given time … if that’s wine, I’m not often drinking bottle at that price and it’s certainly not a daily quaffer for me! 😊 I will note that there’s something odd at play here locally … I have subsequently seen another similar board and pieces but now listed at 5 times the price…my guess now is that these pieces are seconds or prototypes or something … for example, the knights are inconsistent and one has a small hole and hairline crack. Very hard to see because of the complexity of carving. The board has some light scratches that I can buff out and refinish. Who knows … what I do know is at the price I paid - I’m not fussed at all but at 5 times that or if I was ordering it new at even higher prices I would be disappointed and wanting replacements. It’s all in the expectations and our own subjective views of value. Very strange provenance indeed, maybe that’s why Santa looks so stern and the queen a bit snarky! All a bit of fun. 😊

Pegasuses (pegasi?) to represent flying reindeers. Trees in place of Bishops. The pawns are candles. Is the Queen an angel? It looks like wings on her back. And the Rooks are chimneys? 

Let's put it succinctly Powder.....My Black Friday chess set purchase now seems like a rip off compared to what you paid for that gem.....I thought I got a great deal...Go figure.

P.S. Now that I'm retired an expensive bottle of wine is anything over $12.00

A good bottle of whiskey works out cheaper in the long run ,

Too strong...I'm a bit of a wimp.

Or a nice gummy.

No need for a new thread because it continues the kitsch theme! Cool or crass - both words are appropriate!
So why? Firstly, I only wanted the board … I thought the board looked lovely - 40cm - I don’t have the size and I thought it quite stylish … the chess pieces were not the target. That said, I hoped for a few things - that the board was not scratched, there was some lovely grain on the light wood and maybe there was a bit of fun in the pieces (plus I liked Stephen King books growing up, so the horror theme aligned ) … and with a collecting lens - there are many, many themed chess set - lots of resin and/or ceramic, plaster, plastic etc… not to many metal (cast metal?). So - what where did it land?

I think the board is as I wanted - quite classy. At least to my eyes. The set was purchased sometime in the 90’s, the seller thinks. My online searches see it may be called many things - mostly “good vs evil” or “fantasy skull” or “medieval”. Pleasingly, it is metal - these pieces are heavy. The king is 200gms - the Pawns 130gms - and the king is only 9cm (3.5”) with 2.5cm (1”) base. The colour is a great, nothing faded or chipped and the detail quite impressive but hardly high art!! 
Anyway here ‘tis - it’ll make you smile or make your eyes bleed … perhaps both. 💀

Thanks @verylate - I’m with you, it will be great felt when I get around to it. For the moment, this box and these pieces were meant for each other. Foam top, bottom and in between - these pieces don’t move and won’t scratch each other. A heavy little box too - 5.06kg/11+ lbs!

Another nice score from the man "down under".

What a good uncle.