The Selenus chess set (1616)

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Reconstruction of the Selenus chess set, shown on our painted chess board
  • Reconstruction of the Selenus chess set, shown on our painted chess board
  • Selenus chess pieces – king, queen, bishop, knight, rook, pawn
  • Selenus chess set, recreating the layout in the image from Das Schach-oder
  • Selenus chess set, showing all the white pieces on our painted chess board

  • The Selenus chess set (1616)

  • The first, and simplest, of the Selenus style of chess sets
  • £300.00
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Price shown is for the chess pieces only; displayed on our painted wooden chessboard. Please click on the images above for an expanded view.

The chess set published by Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, writing as Gustav Selenus, in his Das Schach-oder König-Spiel (The Chess or King Game) in 1616. This is one of the earlier published chess sets to feature the castle tower as the rook, first introduced in the late sixteenth century. You can read more about the Selenus chess set here and about the development of Early Historic chess sets here.

One of our Selenus chess sets featured in the BBC series The Musketeers, set in early seventeenth century France (Series 2, episode 1 - currently available on iPlayer in the UK).

  • Pieces turned and carved from beech wood
  • White pieces are the natural wood colour; black pieces are stained
  • All pieces are sanded, but not oiled, waxed or varnished
  • King is 1.5" diameter at the base
  • King is 4.25" tall
  • Pieces are supplied in a sturdy wire-stitched cardboard box

 

Historic Period or Date:

  • late C16th to mid C17th

Materials and Special Features:

  • Beech wood pieces

Dimensions:

  • Height: up to 4.25"
  • Diameter: max. 1.5"

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