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The Third Crusade by Alteste Volkstedter, Circa 1970
The Third Crusade chess set. This set was featured in Chess Masterpieces: One Thousand Years of Extraordinary Chess Sets book by George Dean.
This chess set depicts this greatest of all the crusades. Conceived by J. J. Van Gerdinge in France in the twentieth century and fired in a German factory (the Älteste Volkstedter Porzellan-manufaktur), it is made of hard-paste porcelain and polychromed in vibrant colors.
Richard the Lion-Hearted, dressed in blue with a British crown, is the king on the Crusaders' side.
His pawns are English archers drawing their crossbows. The mounted knights are clothed in heavy mail armor and conical helmets. The bishops are playing harps, indicating Richard's love of music, which he acquired from his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Saladin the Great, in a white robe and gold turban, is the king on the Islamic side. His bishops hold carrier pigeons, which Saladin used to communicate intelligence reports between his troops.
The Turkish cavalry wear light coats of Damascus chain mail.