Original Chess Game by Man Ray

This chess set, which is on the one hand slightly whimsical and on the other hand first-classly crafted, belongs to the creative legacy of Man Ray (1890 - 1976), who has gone down in art history as one of the most important pioneers of modernism. As a photographer, director, painter and object artist, he had a lasting influence on Dadaism and Surrealism, but did not remain limited to these genres. The Chess Set is an official reissue in collaboration with the Man Ray Trust.

In keeping with his unconventional approach, Man Ray did not design literal kings and queens for this chess set, but took the pure geometric forms according to Euclid as a starting point: cube, sphere, pyramid and cone. In addition, he placed the chess set in iconic contexts, so that the pyramid as a pharaonic symbol represents the king and the cone reflects the medieval headdress of a queen. Alcoholic beverages are associated with the bishop, so that he takes the form of a jug. And Man Ray wouldn't be Man Ray without some Dadaist unpredictability: for the figure of the knight he used the scroll of a violin which was found in the artist's studio.

With the original composition of the pieces, the chess set breaks charmingly out of the usual, but remains intuitively playable.

The chess set is excellently handcrafted in a family business in southern Germany. Solid beech wood is used.

By request we can provide either the chess board or the chessmen seperately.