This chess set is a reproduction of an argillite chess set in the Canadian History Museum's Haida Gwaii collection. The set was carved by Christian M. White, a member of the Haida Nation, in 1997. In creating the set, he spent a great deal of time reflecting on how to portray the Haida culture within chess traditions. His inspiration came from the seven main figures of Haida mythology. As a game of chess has only six characters, the two Rooks were each assigned a different Haida figure, completing the Haida pantheon without affecting the strategy of the game. The artist chose his father's Eagle clan to represent the King and his mother's Raven clan to represent the Queen. The Bishop Frog, Orca (Killer Whale) Knight, Rook Bear, Rook Beaver and human form of the Watchman complete the set. The museum quality reproductions are made from a natural resin composite to attain the heft of the argillite originals. The chess set is comprised of 16 black pieces and 16 white pieces. The pieces range in size from the Eagle King at 3¼ inches to the 2 inch Rooks. Made in Canada by Boma. We are unable to obtain the chess set at this time. Please let us know if you would like to be notified when available.
