A large part of the chess games at the Chessmen Museum are recent designs. This doesn´t mean they all have a modern theme, though. This week we bring you the first of two articles on pre-colonial chess games, inspired by ancient Mesoamerican cultures.
The family of the late Mr J.M. Glotzbach left 74 chess games to the Chessmen Museum. Many of them were of an international nature. Two similar-looking sets were made in Mexico (numbers 21 and 28 in the catalogue). Glotzbach bought them at the end of the seventies, in the former Pasadena Passage in The Hague and the Fair Trade shop in Den Hoorn (Groningen province) respectively. The game from The Hague is made of black and white onyx whereas the pieces from Den Hoorn are a pale brown and bluish grey onyx.
Chess set from Mexico, J.M. Glotzbach Collection, nr. 28.
Polish till it shines
Onyx, a type of limestone, can be found anywhere in the world and this decorative material with a flamed or striped pattern was already used in ancient times. In Mexico, onyx can be found in all sorts of colours as well. This mineral often occurs in rocks and under waterfalls and ever since we have the machinery for it, it is extracted in large blocks from special onyx mines. It didn´t happen like this in pre-colonial times in Central America yet.
The original inhabitants of what is now Mexico created statues, jewellery and (art) objects of different materials such as precious metals, terracotta, alabaster, basalt (volcanic rock) and also onyx. Contrary to Western methods, Mesoamerican artists would varnish the onyx. The most beautiful objects have been recovered from the graves of, for example, Mixtec rulers. Brightly coloured and shiny, polished ceramics, turquoise stone mosaics fitted on wood, rock or bone, and delicately forged, precious metal jewels.
Aztec or Mixtec?
These days onyx is mostly used to make jewellery but this Mexican marble is also highly suitable for making chess pieces. These chess sets from Mexico, however, have nothing to do with the pre-Columbian dwellers of the area, although the design of the pieces was inspired by their artefacts.
Numbers 21 and 28 from the Glotzbach catalogue have a typically Mexican design and these games are often referred to as ´Aztec´ and sometimes ´Maya´. These are two of the most famous pre-colonial civilisations of Mesoamerica, but they are not the only ones. When we observe the design of the pieces, it is reminiscent of the Mixtecs. The Mixtecs lived in the valley of Oaxaca, in the southwest of Mexico.
Chess set from Mexico, J.M. Glotzbach Collection nr. 21.
This region is one of the most thoroughly examined archaeological areas in Mexico and the oldest retrieved objects date back 12,000 years. So we know the area was already inhabited when different groups of Mixtecs invaded it in the 10th century. Their golden age lasted until the end of the 15th century, when the Aztecs took over power. Not long after, the Spaniards first made their appearance, with all the consequences that entailed.
Admiring the neighbours
The influence of the Mixtecs on Aztec culture is very obvious. The formidable goldsmith´s art of the Mixtecs was famous all around Central America and the Aztecs admired it greatly. Nowadays, the colourful stone mosaics are frequently considered Aztec when probably all of them were manufactured by the Mixtecs. After the conquest of the area, the stone mosaics ended up in the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan, as a tribute to the king. The Aztecs also imitated the well-known Mixtec codices (pictorial histories about Mixtec dynasties).
Jade Mixtec figure, 15th century, Silver Museum Florence
Contemporary chess games are probably identified as Aztec because of the bigger fame this nation has. In any case, we can find some clear Mixtec influences in the design of the chess pieces. At the Silver Museum in Florence, there is a tiny figurine on display that the famous Florence-based De’ Medici family got their hands on. The little 15th century statue is 7,5 centimetres high and is made of jade. The figure is in a squatting position, which means that it probably represents a deceased person, since Mixtecs were buried in this same position. The similarities are especially clear in the angular reproduction of the character.
No physical evidence has been found, in either graves or ruins, which indicates that pre-Columbian civilisations played board games before they were conquered by the Spaniards. However, images have been discovered of several types of ball games. The physical tracks, where the ball games were played, have been recovered in the city centres of the Aztecs. These games were probably a lot more violent than the peaceful chess game. As it happens, the losers of the ball game were in danger of being sacrificed to the gods. Fortunately, today, we prefer a quiet game of chess, with or without pre-colonially made chess pieces…
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