An Indian Export chess set from the Gareth Williams Chess Collection. Gareth is an acknowledged authority on antique chess sets and his excellent book on antique chess sets, “Masterpieces” , was published in 2000.
These sets were made in the first half of the 19th century and exported to Great Britain by the British East India Company. The red stain is a cochineal dye, made from crushed beetles. The exact recipe is now lost.