*SOLD* Auburnibus (The Redheads); Soviet ‘Voronezh’ Analysis Chessmen, c.1950s Active

The Redheads (Auburnibus); 32 medium-sized analysis chessmen without board, Soviet, birch wood, Stalin red vs. black, artistically restored, naturally weighted, c.1955

Height: King 8cm, weight 13g, base width 2.8cm; Queen 7.3cm wt. 13g, Bishop 6.5cm 9g, Knight 5.6cm 9g, Rook 4.6cm 9g, Pawns 4.2cm 4g.

W: antiqued pink felt pads; B: same

 

An interesting and slightly unusual Voronezh pattern due to the rotund, onion-shaped bases of the royal couple. The set came to me in metallic copper vs. black colouring which has been stripped down and reworked to what I believe the set would look like today if left in its original condition. The ‘red’ side was colour-matched to the visible flecks of the original finish that that peeked through the brash copper coating.

 

The red vs black opposing colours were a deliberate ploy of the Soviet Union to steer away from the traditional ‘Western’ white vs. black colours and was apparently an idea of the infamous dictator, Stalin.

 

The set is original, but the finials of both kings are modelled on an older set from the Tsarist Era. They just seemed right for these particular pieces, and as you probably know, I’m not one who abides by the rules.

 

The set is in very good condition with hardly any dinks or chips. One white knight, however, did have a repaired muzzle as I discovered once the copper paint was removed. This I’ve repaired and is now in keeping with the aged set. If you are unhappy with the restoration I will return your investment – but I’m quite confident that that will not be the case!

 

A quite fitting set for running through some of the old battles of the past,

 

Both kings carry the hand-painted iridescent copper ‘Power’ signature of the artist on their bases and are also accompanied by our unique Chess Schach ‘Certificates of Artistry’ which are posted out separately once we tally up how many ‘Copper Signature’ sets passed through our galleries in 2022 …“All good things…” as the old saying goes.

 

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