*SOLD* Ignisi Tabula (Fire on Board); Soviet ‘Baku II’ Weighted Tournament Chess Set, Stalin Era, circa 1950-1965

Ignisi Tabula (Fire on Board); 32 heavily weighted ‘Baku II’ chessmen without board, fire-red v. deep cherry black, antiqued, wood, Soviet, c.1960

Height: King 10.5cm, wt 35g, base width 3.7cm, Queen 9.5cm, wt 35g, Bishop 8.2cm 23g, Knight 8cm 30g, Rook 6.7cm 27g, Pawn 5.5cm 15g.
W: pink antiqued felt bases, B: same

Quite simply, a stunning example of the classic ‘Baku’ series of tournament chessmen. The fire-red patina of the light pieces is almost totally original, I have merely repaired/colour-matched a few unsightly chips here and there and ‘elevated’ the finish by bringing the whole of the light side closer together in colour, uniformity and depth.

The dark pieces have had the original (thoroughly lacklustre) black paint removed completely, which has been built back up using multiple layers of stains and oils to complement the fire-red patina of the light pieces perfectly – now the whole set sings as one, especially when the sun hits them!

The original weight (which was a smelly mixture of sawdust and glue – and possibly urine, too!?) has also been totally removed and replaced with real weight making it one of the heaviest Baku sets we’ve listed. The original tatty pink cloth pads have also been replaced and subtly antiqued, and in all appearances, now look as old as the set itself – old sets with a new set feel, you might say!

The pieces are ideal for display as well as casual/blitz play and both kings carry the hand-painted iridescent silver ‘Power’ signature of the artist on their bases.

All of our ‘silver signature’ sets come with a Certificate of Authenticity which will be dispatched in the first few weeks of the new year once we have the full tally of sets listed in our galleries during 2020 (at present that sits at around 30).

Ref code IT20

Visit our Gallery for more artistically restored vintage chess sets. 

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