This appears to be a unique chess set. Anyone seen this pattern before ?

I emailed chessfanla about this set already. It does look something like the Lowe set which is a copy of the Anri set from Val Gardena. There's some resemblance to the Lewis set and Terra Cotta army too for that matter, but really there are a ton of chess sets from 18th-19th-20th centuries that look something like this, the wooden "Charlemagne" sets for one. Most usually the Bishops will be a different piece in those sets, however unless the set is British or something. The OP says these are Spanish/American and later than most of those sets anyway, so the shape of the pieces is not surprising. It does look like it could be one of kind esp if what the OP has heard about its origin is genuine but it might be a good idea to check the catalogs of all of the Val Gardena carvers to see for sure if it's one of theirs. I don't think it is.

Fresh installment, the white rook:

Accompanied by a 1 & 5/8"rook for size perspective, this rook has a commanding presence. 

Hardly timid.  The piece is not only tall but substantial, weighty, like the measured pace of a good game.  The solid wood feels comfortable in your hand.  It conveys the power a rook should wield.  Conversely, it is something to be missed once it is removed from your side.  At ten ounces it sits solidly on the table and will not tip until the top is pushed two inches from the upright position.

The piece is also very well balanced: this was achieved by the use of a heavy hard wood which is also weighted at the bottom.  I can balance it on my finger if my finger is placed approximately 2 inches from the base. 

The dark tower.  The black rook differs from the sculpture of the white by sporting a curved versus a straight sally port, narrower arrow slits (but more numerous), and a square uppermost opening. 

 Six crenellations round the top of each rook.  

Detail on the sally ports, as well as the deep masonry lines on the towers.  I have neither cleaned nor polished the set, I imagine the wood grain and luster will become even more enchanting once this is done.

Agreed on the lifelike aim of this set.  In looking at the detail it is amazing to think of the time, blood, and tears it must have taken to sculpt it.  I read that it takes a skilled craftsman about a week to finish a set the likes of the Staunton replicas, I can't imagine what it would be like to do faces, muscle, robes, shields, and moustaches in addition to that. 

Take the weapons wielded here, for example.  The swords on the pawns were not carved separately and then glued on like most elaborate sets, if you look closely you can see that each pawn, their sword, and everything else of that figure is sculpted out of one solid piece of wood.  The base is a separate piece of wood (for reasons of consistency I imagine), but each of the figures is carved and sculpted out of one solid piece of wood.

It's a tremendous homage to chivalry and medieval combat with a seemingly gothic bend.  I should be able to get more pictures soon.

A template!  I can see some similarities, but mostly wash with the differences.  One could put it to artistic license I imagine. 

Another thing I see about the Lewis set is the comical aim of the expressions.  This set has a dead serious, down to the business of war kind of feel to it.

Those rooks look like weapons unto themselves.

Thanks for posting these photos. This set is amazing

Does this set belong to you? Did it come with a board?

And they might be!  I would think that opponents that sit down for chess with you would not be the bludgening type, as they are, likely, evolved from that stage ?  That said why not a double duty set...

The story that surrounds the set is as interesting as the set itself.  I am aiming to put the story up once I have the set pictured and described.

I was also at a loss for words.  I had seen wood sculptures before, but to minituarize life like figures on wood like this, well, that is a whole other dimension.  As I understand it, while the wood grain adds immensely to the beauty and character of the art, it can also make fine carving and sculpture very difficult, so this work here must have taken a long time and a lot of inspiration.

Believe it or not it is currently on display here, and only here.

Hello xTheBlackKnight and thanks for your post on the thread!  I am aiming to get more pictures up soon.  If anyone has a particular piece they want to see first let me know.

Hi tmkroll, I have been looking at the sets you mentioned and no matches are apparent.  I am also awaiting more verifiable info on the actual age of the set, though I have a good idea of the era in which it was last used.  Thanks again for your insight on those sets.  I'll post more as more information is discovered.

Hi chessfanla. I had no idea of the scale of your set before some of your latest pictures. Maybe you mentioned it and I didn't notice. The closest looking pattern I know of is the Anri Montsalvant set which it seems at one time was made with a 10 inch King. Your set seems to be bigger than even that. But anyway the vast majority of "similar looking" sets I mentioned are not nearly so large.

Looking forward to this story

The rooks of this set are stunning, and I think the sculptor could not, correctly I think, fathom a skinny tower for this set.  The king of this set is not quite ten inches, he actually stands at about eight, with the quality of his sculpture retaining his presence in front of the rook and the other pieces. 

I'll get the bishop out next, since someone emailed me with an interest in that. 

Good morning and thanks for posting Franquis.  And yes indeed, the story.  Since the set tells some of it, believe it or not(little hints here and there in the sculptures), I thought it best to post the set first which should express what many other words would strain to tell.  Then the story will come.

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I forgot to respond to the board query, in that the set does come with a playing surface, a table in this case.  It is a nice piece of woodwork in and of itself, and it could use some tlc.  I'll get to the table before I get to the story of the set and how the story involves me.  Thanks for your post.

White Bishop:

Flowing robes, with an expression that probably mirrors the player's expression if the game is good enough. 

His look among the pieces is a reminder of the potential for clever use to yield a stunning surprise.

He's a handful of a bishop.

If you could caption his thoughts, what would they be ?

Hi Chessfanla! This chess set is an absolute work of art. And tthe photos are very well taken.