Chess Piece of a Queen

Spanish (Artist)

12th century (Medieval)

walrus ivory
(Medieval Europe )

This chess piece of a queen seated inside a castle is modeled on similar pieces made in the Arab world in the 8th and 9th centuries and brought to western Europe as gifts or articles of trade. The queen's headdress, a close-fitting hood with headband, is typical, though, of royal garments worn in 12th-century Spain. The piece is carved from a walrus tusk, used as a cheaper alternative to elephant ivory. This is the only medieval chesspiece of a queen in an American collection.

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.**

Count Auguste de Bastard, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henri Daguerre, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Exhibitions

2016-2017	A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota.
2010	Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
1978	The Song of Roland. Palmer Museum of Art, University Park.
1960	History of Chess. Stanford University, Stanford.
1959	The Medieval Craftsman and His Modern Counterpart. Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington; Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
7/25/1987	Examination	examined for loan
10/13/1992	Examination	other

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Geographies

Spain (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 2 3/4 x W: 1 3/4 x D: 2 11/16 in. (7.1 x 4.4 x 6.8 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters, 1926

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

71.145

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