Man Ray -- who most of us remember as a talented avant-garde artist and photographer -- was also a chess enthusiast who enjoyed playing the game and making chess sets, especially for his friends and chess devotees. Born Emmanuel Rabonovitch Radnitzky in Philadelphia in 1890, Man Ray designed his first sculptured chess set in 1920. He produced the elegant fine art chess set offered for sale here in 1947 and sold it to the parents of the present owners.
This sleek and playable chess set which appeals to eye and hand alike is complete with thirty-two pieces and a full-size silk-screened Bakelite board. The pieces, in red and gold anodized aluminum, range in size from the one inch high Knight to the two inch Queen. Each sculptured piece is about an inch in diameter at the base; each is abstract and simple, powerfully suggesting the object it represents. The pawns, which are all alike, appear to be cast aluminum. The other pieces, no two of which are identical, appear to have been individually milled and lathed from extruded aluminum bars and rods. The Kings are die-punched on top with the letter "R". It is tempting to speculate: Is the "R" a designator (Rex or Roi), an abbreviated signature (Ray or Radnitzky) or perhaps the imprimatur of the machinist? There is no need to speculate about the author. As shown in the detail, Man Ray signed and dated the chess board in the lower right hand corner.
Man Ray hoped that a chess set he designed would become the standard for World Chess Federation play. That didn't happen, but we think you'll agree that this handsome collectible chess set, which was designed in 1945, was one of Man Ray's most artistically dramatic conceptions. Although it is known that Man Ray usually contracted with an airplane machinist to produce his chess set sculptures as they were commissioned, it is not known how many of this design were actually made.
The heirloom chess set, which is in very good condition, has recently been evaluated by fine arts expert Roslyn Bakst Goldman who assigned a fair market value of $20,000. To get more information about buying this chess set, email its owner. Additional details, provenance information, photographs, and a copy of the evaluation letter are available on request. No dealers please!
Sorry folks! It's SOLD!
Sorry. The Man Ray chess set featured here was sold for $12,000. This classified ad webpage has been left in place by the developer -- the WebShop at SERVENET.COM -- as an example of websites that work.
Copyright © 1999, L.J. Bruno and J.R. Athena. All rights reserved.
Produced in the WebShop at Installations Plus+.
This page last updated 07/13/2000.
