spanish-pulpit-chess-set-circa-1800
January 27, 2018
The mysterious “Spanish” Pulpit. The origins of these sets still remains unclear. They appear in English inventories in the late 18th century and it has been suggested that they are either English in origin, or the work of French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic period. Another possibility is that they are Russian exports from the Baltic area, although as yet, I am unaware of any Pulpit sets carved from walrus ivory, which is what you might expect from that region.