Here is a very special chess set of Chinese origin. The pieces were carved from ivory, one side natural, the other side tea stained, the kings, queens and bishops with additional black ink highlights. Particularly impressive are the kings and queens.

The real highlight of the set, however, are the pawns, which are depictions of the Eight Immortals, a group of legendary characters in Chinese mythology.

In Chinese mythology, the Eight Immortals were a group of legendary “xian” (super-human, celestial beings). They include: – He Xian gu (The Immortal Woman); Cao Gou Jiu (The Royal Uncle Cao); Li Tie guai (The Iron-Crutch Li); Lan Cai (The Immortal Hermaphrodite); Lu Dongbin (The Chief Leader); Han Xiang Zi (The Philopsher Han Ziang); Zhang Guo Lao (The Elder Zhang Guo) & Zhongli Quan.

Very detailed, all 32 pieces are different. King 5" (12.8cm).

Sets of this pattern were apparently made from the 1920s to the 1960s. The older sets are usually characterized by better quality of carving, which became coarser in the 1960s when sets of this type were produced in larger numbers.