Priceless! (Because it appears to be a one of a kind that someone made with great care)
rare chess set

Did the person passing it down to you offer any information about it? Where it was made, when and by whom? Or how they came across it?
Not priceless and not unique. Millions of these sets have been made in Mexico. They are easy to make but unfortunately hard to use to play as they chip easily. They can be found in chess shops everywhere, usually as the cheapest items. The table is more interesting but also quite common in Mexico. The set is worth perhaps $20. But go to the Cleveland library exhibit or the Metropolitan Museum of Art if you wish to see a huge variety of beautiful and well-crafter sets from various historical periods. You may be able to view some of them online.

sorry bout the misplacement!!
That's OK, I just feel it's my duty to point these things out as a card-carrying chess geek.
My dad was a fair whittler; I was more interested in the stand than the board and set.

I was going to say that the set looks like the ones you find in Mexico, though the pieces don't look like the ones typically seen in Progreso on the Yucatan penninsula. The table part is awesome, I don't remember ever seeing anything like that in Mexico but it wouldn't be hard for craftsmen down there to create something like it.
It's an awesome set, and even if not ideal for playing actual games on it makes a nice display set.

Looks like the legs on that table were whittled out of a solid hunk of wood. I used to have an uncle who did that kind of stuff, but nothing that intricate.
If I were trying to sell that, based entirely on the pictures, I wouldn't take less than $500, and I'd try to get more than $1,000 for it.
has anyone ever seen a set like this.and whats it worth?

