Josef Hartwig and Joost Schmidt

Comprising: thirty two Chess Pieces, Card Box, together with a Game Board by another hand

Private Collection, Germany

Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy, Eds., Bauhausbücher: Neue Arbeiten der Bauhauswerkstätten, Vol. 7, Munich 1925, pp. 43-45
Herbert Bayer, Das Bauhaus in Dessau: Katalog der Muster, 1925, n.p.
Magdalena Droste, Bauhaus: 1919-1933, Cologne 1990, pp. 94-95
Magdalena Droste and Peter Hahn, et al., Eds., Bauhaus Archive Berlin The Collection, Berlin 1999, p. 90
Exh. Cat., Weil am Rhein, Vitra Design Museum and Bonn, Bundeskunsthalle, the Bauhaus: #itsalldesign, September 2015 - August 2016, p. 289, no. 277 for an advertisement, cat. 278
Jeannine Fiedler and Peter Feierabend, Eds., BAUHAUS, Potsdam 2016, p. 406
Exh. Cat., Paris, Musée des Arts décoratifs, L'esprit du Bauhaus, October 2016 - February 2017, p. 196, fig. 2 for an advertisement

Very good condition overall. The lid of the box with minor wear, staining and rubbing concentrated to the corners and lower edges. One corner with minor separation, approximately 1 cm from the bottom. Minor marks and scuffs to the paper label as visible in the printed and online catalogues. The base of the box with minor wear and rubbing concentrated to the corners. One black pawn and one black knight with tight hairline cracks that are stable. The games board with scattered scuffs and scratches throughout the playing surface and frame with very minor chips to the corners of the frame. The playing surface posesses a moderate warp however should not detract from game play. Minor to moderate seam separation to the corners of the frame, with one side of the frame loose.
"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."

The present lot, a rare variant retaining its original card box, was designed by Josef Hartwig in collaboration with Joost Schmidt, who designed the graphics and additional promotional materials for the set. At the time of its execution, Hartwig was leader of the wood carving and sculpture workshop at the Bauhaus, having accepted the position in 1921. The design of the set was based on an idea conceived by De Stijl artist Vilmos Huszar. Where Huszar modified the existing design of the traditional chess piece, Hartwig pushed the design of the pieces further into abstraction whilst retaining the intuitiveness of the game. Hartwig designed each game piece to reflect the directional moves in which it could be executed: "singly or combined, their shape specifies their movement; the volume, their worth" (Josef Hartwig, cited in: Herbert Bayer, Das Bauhaus in Dessau: Katalog der Muster, 1925, p. 11)

An article in the Leipziger Tageblatt newspaper reviewing the set proclaimed, "Fans of the regal game [of chess] are in for a huge surprise: the demilitarisation of the chess pieces... Purely mimicking a ‘style’ will never lead to a satisfying result... there are few forces at work that are capable of creating a genuine new style from the inside out, and which can now quietly put new in place of old. A serious, modern artist who wants to redesign an object is aware that in the choice of form, he has to consider the peculiarity of his material, the method of manipulation and its purpose of use."