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Madagascar Chess Set, 1970s

An interesting tribal figure Chess Set from Madagascar, 1978

Hand carved with many details, the Set is made from a light Wood similar Boxwood, the Black Side made from natural dark Wood.

The Pawns representing a Tribe, King and Queen as missionaries.

Both sides are the same design and represent the dominant, present-day Merina peoples of the high-lands. The King is dressed as a typical Merina man, in a long coat. (In real life the coat would have a slit for easier movement.) The Queen is a Merina lady with umbrella. Her hair is correctly braided. The shawl over her right shoulder indicates that she is single; if it were draped over the left, it would mean she was married.

The Knight is the ubiquitous Zebu humped cattle. The Castles are traditional Merina royalty burial
houses (tranovola). There is no religious significance to the Bishop's attire. In fact, the dress is more coastal and non-Merina, since the brimless cap and short pants are worn only by small boys in the highland areas, where the nights are quite cold. The Pawns are warriors, but of the nineteenth century and not the sort seen today.

These anomalies point up the fact that most ethnic
chess sets are not anthropologically correct.

Comparable chess set is shown in Ned Munger, Cultures, Chess & Art, Vol. 1 Africa, p. 29 & figure 10.

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