'Reds and Whites': A Soviet Porcelain Chess Set, State Porcelain Manufactory, Leningrad, after 1922

after a 1922 design by Natalia Danko, the Red King modelled as a blacksmith in a foundry apron holding a hammer, the Red Queen dressed in traditional Russian peasant costume, the bishops as two strapping Red Army men armed with modern pistols, the rooks as fantastic ships, a form unique to Russian chess sets, each decorated with a golden hammer and sickle within wheat sheaves, symbol of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, the pawns as golden-haired peasants, their muscular arms holding scythes and wheat; the White King modelled as a laughing skeleton in medieval armour with ermine mantle draped over an Imperial crown, the White Queen holding a large cornucopia out of which spill gold coins, the two bishops as 19th-century cavalry officers bearing the Imperial eagle, the rooks as white ships, the rigging surmounted by the Imperial eagle, the eight pawns suffering and imprisoned, bound by three rows of chain, apparently unmarked, apart from one red and one white pawn each with impressed X or K

Sotheby's London, 27 November 2007, lot 614

The Reds: All in overall good condition. The stars on the boats have minor chips at the corners. Light wear to the gilding and paintwork consistent with age and use. The Whites: Wear to the gilding as before, particulalry to the breast plate of one of the knights. The black paintwork is worn on the chains of the pawns. The head of one of the bishops apparently broken and repaired. Repainting or glue is visible under UV light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Writers of the period often cited the chess set as one of the factory's most important achievements, and the compelling figures were important representations of the new Soviet state and its ideology.  It featured in the Soviet pavilion at the 1925 Paris decorative arts exposition and in subsequent international exhibitions in the 1930s (See Dm. Iwanoff, "La nouvelle porcelaine russe," in L'art décoratif et industriel de l'U.R.S.S., Moscow, 1925, p. 51).  The rare and luxurious set, however, did not adorn the average Soviet home.  During the first year it was available, factory archives indicate that a complete set of thirty-two figures cost 391.60 chervontsy (gold roubles), or nearly ten months' wages for the average worker (See TsGA SPb f. 1181, o. 7, d. 7, l. 86).

A very similar chess set was formerly in the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Collection, Sotheby's London, 18 September 2007, lot 447.  For other examples, see the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Chess: East and West, Past and Present, no. 67, 1968, this set apparently acquired at a 1929 New York exhibition; N. Lobanov-Rostovsky, Revolutionary Ceramics: Soviet Porcelain, 1917-1927, London, 1990, pp.96-97, this set also unmarked,; and T. Nosovich and I. Popova, Gosudarstvennyi farforovyi zavod, 1904-1944, St. Petersburg, 2005, p. 351.