The Magpies (Picae); Soviet ‘Mordovian Style’ Gulag Chessmen, c.1955

The Magpies (Picae); 32 vintage chess pieces without board, black vs. white, Soviet, birch wood, partially weighted, c.1950s

Height: King 3 3/4 inches or 9.5cm, weight 20g, base width 3.5cm; Queen 8.6cm, wt. 17g; Bishop 7.2cm 14g, Knight 6.6cm 17g, Rook 5cm 18g, Pawns 4.5cm 6g

W: dark blue felt pads; B: same.

 

To date, relatively little is known about the history of these chess pieces compared to other contemporary Soviet patterns. They are based on the post-WWII “Mordovian Gulag” sets (see my Feb ‘24 THE GULAG KNIGHT OF MORDOVIA chessay for more info on this pattern) and in my opinion, were designed specifically with labour camp (Gulag) and later, State Factory production in mind. This is evident in the knights, which weren’t carved, but crudely moulded from compressed wood shavings, an over-abundant by-product of the Soviet’s Cultural Goods and Furniture factories, a common sight within the Gulag Archipelago.

 

I say ‘crudely’ as the original knight design left much to be desired. The knights you see here have been reworked from the originals to match my own aesthetic tastes. The mane is more pronounced and the ears have been rebuilt and carved in finer detail (these were originally unsightly ‘nubs’ hinting at ears) the lower jaw has also been beefed out somewhat and now resembles the muzzle of a horse rather than the bill of a duck!

 

The finish may appear to be a ‘no-brainer’ black & white paint job, but it is, in fact, far from that. My aim was to emulate the original, heavily-brushed finish as much as possible. Therefore, the paint product I chose is almost identical in body to the 1950s paint the Soviets used – minus the lead additives, of course. Not to give too much away, it’s an eco-friendly industrial paint specifically made for coating metal handrails, door knobs &c, in high-traffic public areas. This was then custom-coloured to match the original pieces; a soft off-white for the light side and a deep browny-black for the dark, which I applied liberally, sanding each coat back and reapplying until the desired finish was achieved. The surface was then aged using tinted shellacs, antiquing oils and elbow grease to emulate the feel of a slightly used everyday playing set.

 

As mentioned, I have no doubt that this set was turned at a forced labour camp, so do not expect perfect uniformity within the pieces. However, if you enjoy handling a set with character, this is a set for you! And I know you’ll enjoy the pieces as much as I did working with them.

 

But wait! I forgot to mention the weight! Originally, the knight and queen were the heaviest pieces. I adjusted the weight of the kings so they would weigh slightly more than Her Nibs. I also added weight to the rooks and bishops, just to give the back line a more consistent feel over the board – thank me later…

Enjoy!

 

The Magpies are UV resistant and ideal for display as well as casual play and BOTH QUEENS (and not the kings this year!) carry the hand-painted iridescent GOLD 2024  ‘Power signature’ of the artist on their bases. The set is also accompanied by our uniquely designed ‘Certificate of Artistry’ (see our Jan 2022 chessay, THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE C.O.A’s for more info on these).

 

Etsy Set Price: $550.00

 

Ref Code: P24