Italian/Czech/Slovak chess set. Reproduction (of original Italian set) by Elizabeth Gann in 2014. The pieces are hand blown in the Czech Republic by master glass blower Vladimir Zubrican; the Baroque style white and amber-colored pieces sit atop brass and turned wood pedestals reproducing an historical design.

Fantastic blown glass globes mounted on beautifully crafted and stained wooden stems with heavy, beautifully designed round metal bases. One side amber color with gold-plated color bases the other white globes mounted with silver-plated color bases. The chess pieces are also Murano-Venetian glass crafted on top of the globes in breath-taking style. King size is 7.5".

This is the story of this set as told by Israel Raphaelli.
Years ago Floyd Sarisohn and his wife visited in Venice, Italy. In the Window of an old antique store they saw this set - dusty and not very appealing. The seller told them that it goes back to late 1700, made by the famous local glass blowing experts. They bought it on the spot, shipped to their home in Long Island, NY. His original set was the model for Elizabeth Gann, who hired a glass master to make a few replicas (embellishing with his own artistic style) in various colors. Only a handful were made.