berhempore-skirt-chess-set-circa-1830

A very similar set can be seen in the Jon Crumiller collection, featuring distinctive “skirted" galleries. These sets would have been made for export to Great Britain during the early to mid 19th century. Berhampore (in West Bengal) was fortified in 1757 by the East India Company, after the Battle of Plassey in June 1757, and it continued as a military installation until 1870. Berhampore was a major centre for ivory carving at that time, and high quality chess sets were exported by the British East India Company back to England.