chess

The work in question is a hand-engraved chess. The dimensions of the board are 1m by 1m. The pieces are 18 cm high, with the exception of the king and the queen, which are 19cm high. The width of the pieces varies from one piece to another, but none of them is wider than 9 cm. This chess is made from walnut tree, and its purpose is primarily ornamental, but if somebody has a wish to play with it, it can serve this purpose as well. I think this work of mine should not be observed solely as chess, but firstly as an attempt to depict two different civilizations. On the one hand there is Greece, representing the foundation of the western culture, on the other hand there is Persia, the foundation of Near and Middle East. These two civilizations marked the period of several centuries BC. Pawns on both sides are presented as soldiers with authentic gear from their times. On their shields, all the soldiers have a unique image from mythology, folklore or religion of their people. Hence, Greek worriers have images of Prometheus, Minotaur, Centaurs, Cerberus, Cyclops, etc. Persian worriers have a unicorn, winged lion, phoenix, griffin, as well as the image of the founder of Persian country, Cyrus the Great, and the goddess Anahita. The rook with Greeks is presented as a catapult and with Persians as a siege ladder. In this way, I tried to evoke Persian often campaigns on Greek towns and their sieges. With Greeks, the knight is presented as Pegasus, and with Persians as winged lion. By doing this, I wanted to emphasize to which extent were myths and mythic characters important in everyday lives of these peoples. The bishops are presented as archers, whereas with Persians they are presented in the same way as on frescoes in the antique town of Susa. The king and the queen with Greeks are Zeus and Athens. In this way I emphasized the polytheism of Greek religion. At the same time I evaded presenting these two figures as monarchs being aware of the fact that Greece is the home of democracy regardless of the fact that certain Greek towns had kings as well. Zeus is presented wielding the terrible thunderbolt and Athens with a helmet on her head and a spear in her hand in accordance with their antique pictures. With Persians, the king and the queen are presented in the same way in which the rulers were presented in reliefs. The king is holding in his hands the symbol of royal power, the scepter. The Persians were the first who introduced it as a marker of royal power, and nowadays everybody use it in the process of coronation. The chess board is made in such a way that it looks like a book. When closed, on one side there is Greece and on the other side is Persia. There are motives that present these cultures in the best possible light. On the Greek side there is a presentation of Trojan horse, the famous Myron's statue the Discobolus (Discus Thrower) and the ship Argo, the ship in which traveled Jason and the Argonauts in the most famous Greek myth. In the middle of this part of the board is written "Greece" in Old Greek. On the Persian side is written"Persia" in Old Persian. There is also the presentation of the tomb of Cyrus the Great, Persian relief from the view of the royal palace and the sphinx of Darius I, which is placed in Louvre, as well as a written text in Old Persian from the palace of Darius I. You can contact me on [email protected] Kindest regards Zoran Milicic Vuka Karadzica 2a 21242 Budisava, Novi Sad Serbia