Nordnarod (The Northerners); Vintage “Finnish Smoothies” Chess Set & Storage Box, c.1975-1985

The Northerners (Nordnarod); 32 vintage chess pieces with original storage box, wood (maple/walnut), weighted, country of manufacture unknown, but distributed by APF von Rolland of Berlin, Germany, c.1980

Height: King 4 1/4 inches or 10.3cm, weight 28g, base width 3.5cm; Queen 9.8cm, wt. 26g; 

Bishop 8.3cm 23g, 

Knight 7.7cm 25g, 

Rook 6cm 30g, 

Pawns 5.5cm 16g

W: Crimson Red felt pads; B: same

 

Storage Box: 43cm x 30cm x 5.5cm

Weight (including chess set): 4lb / 1.8 kilos

 

Nordnarod is a skillfully-turned chess set in excellent vintage condition – the battle scars are yet to be delivered! The individual pieces are housed in their original A.V. Rolland case, held in place by a custom-cut foam interior for safe storage and transportation.

 

The original varnish on the pieces had been partially damaged (semi-bleached), possibly due to prolonged exposure to sunlight (the opened case may have been used as part of a shop window display?) and has been artistically restored bearing the original colours and low-lustre finish in mind. Both kings were originally topped with simply cut cross finials, these I’ve chosen to replace with finials more in tune with those of the bishops and based purely on my own aesthetic tastes – thank me later.

 

As mentioned, the origin of these enigmatic chess pieces remains unclear. My gut instinct is that the German company imported these sets from overseas, possibly from South America (similar patterns are produced in Ecuador) or the Philippines (a well-known AvR supplier) for the Finnish/Scandinavian market – although this too is a foggy assumption. The late Nicholas Lanier on his chess-museum.com site christened the pattern “Finnish Smoothies” and this authoritative opinion as to their origins may well have stuck fast. Indeed, I know this all too well, as I named the set ‘The Northerners’ instead of their supposed Baltic and Soviet influences! However, in honour of the late chess collector I’ve decided to stick by it – but perhaps the next “Finnish” set I restore will carry a more South American moniker … only time will tell…

 

The Northerners 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).