Identifying some chess pieces

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Avatar of BenKeele

Recently inherited some chess pieces from a deceased relative, can anyone help me identify what they are? They're grimy and smell like they're quite old and were probably bought in England.

Avatar of gabriel_patrial

They are, from left to right: King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn. I also think they are made of some kind of wood. Pretty cool set.

I hope this was useful (/srcms)

Avatar of SamiBlue116
Would they be some kind of coffeehouse design? 🤨
Avatar of wids88
Kinda look like regency pieces.
Avatar of SamiBlue116

Good call wids88!

French Regency Chess Images

Avatar of harthacnut

They're regency pieces, yes. It's supposedly a French style originating in the regency of Louis XIV although most likely the style was actually created over a hundred years later.

Dating them might be tricky, if there's nothing else giving an indication of provenance. Regency style predates Staunton but continued to be manufactured for ages and of course reproductions are also a thing. You'll need someone who knows a bit more about wood to advise whether they're actually old, or whether they're a newer set that appears old because it's been used a fair bit and stored in imperfect conditions. It looks in reasonable condition though (other than dirt); my fairly uninformed guess would be mid-(20th) century.

Avatar of BenKeele

@wids88 & @SmaiBlue116 Thanks!

@hrthacnut That's a lot of useful info, but absolutely right on the age thing. I defiantly don't think they're older than 1960, but I thought they might be retro in some way or known through that.

Avatar of Ronbo710

Definitely Regency. One of the greatest ever with a regency set ...