*SOLD* Ova et Spiculum (Egg & Dart); Soviet ‘Egg-Bishop’ Analysis Chessmen, c.1945-1955

Egg & Dart (Ova et Spiculum); 32 vintage chess pieces without board, Soviet (Yelizarovskaya Factory of Cultural Goods), birch wood, naturally weighted, caramel vs. black, artistically restored and antiqued, c.1950

Height: King 10.5cm, weight 16g, base width 3.7cm; Queen 8.5cm, wt. 15g; Bishop 7.8cm 10g, Knight 7.2cm 15g, Rook 6.2cm 16g, Pawns 5.5cm 10g.

W: Gulag blue felt bases; B: same

 

The knowledgeable St. Petersburg-based British collector, John Moyes, regards this pattern as “one of the finest Soviet designs ever made” – and I wholeheartedly concur! In fact, this set was kindly recommended to me by John due to its “bashed up” condition – one bishop signifier was missing, as were three of the royal finials and one pawn had broken in two; all of which have been meticulously repaired/replicated and restored by yours truly.

 

The original (sticky!) toffee-caramel vs. black finish, which was non-existent on some pieces and distractingly tacky on others, has been gently cleaned and artistically restored to an aged, uniform finish that stays true to the original. The knights and the rooks are incredible and are unique to this rarely seen pattern, of which, you‘ll be stretched to find a better example of than the one you see here.

 

As mentioned, only one ‘dart-shaped’ king finial is original, which has been replicated (and it was great to find one intact as these rarely survive!). The queen finials have been matched in size to other similar sets from this period. The missing ‘egg-shaped’ bishop signifier has also been matched in birch wood to the originals. The broken black pawn (which must have been stepped on, as they are too solid to break if dropped) I wanted to salvage rather than turn another. It is a solid and invisible repair using a 2mm metal rod that runs up through the whole piece. I’ve lost track of which one is repaired – if you can tell the difference you’ve a better eye than me!

 

I was tempted to weight the set, but these post-WWII Soviet sets were purposefully designed to be bottom-heavy, making up for the scarcity of lead following the Great War. Plus some collectors prefer these sets unweighted – and I hope that applies to you!