french-cuirassier-chess-set-circa-1800

Charming and unusual French chess set from the Napoleonic period. The knights feature cuirassier’s helmets. 

Cuirassiers were cavalry equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. This French term means “one with a cuirass” (cuirasse), the breastplate armour which they wore. Helmets were loosely based on Greek and Roman helmets from the Ancient World.