Inspire your inner strategist with these chess-inspired decorative lots

There are plenty of chess sets to be found on thesaleroom.com – here are some examples. Below we’re only looking at one set and otherwise focusing on other lots that have to do with the favourite ancient pastime. Whether as a gift for the chess-lover in your life or as a decorative piece in your home, these lots ‘check’ all the boxes.

Victorian games table

This Victorian black marble and Italian inlaid marble octagonal games table is offered with an estimate of £1500-2000 at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s Fine Art sale of October 13-14.

A chessboard is at the centre of this statement-making octagonal Victorian games table. Radiating around the board is a surround of 121 sections of Italian marble, and the piece is offered with a manuscript listing all the marbles in the inlay. A note on the top says that the table was inlaid in 1853. The piece goes under the hammer with an estimate of £1500-2000 at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s Fine Art sale of October 13-14.

View and bid for this octagonal marble inlaid Victorian games able here.

Chess plates

A little more conceptual is this set of 11 ‘Chess’ plates offered by Lyon & Turnbull on October 23. Designed by 20^th century potters Richard and Susan Parkinson, the set includes a King, Queen, two bishops and seven pawn plates. It has an estimate of £800-1200.

View and bid for this set of chess plates here.

Bishop table lamp

This table lamp in the shape of a bishop chess piece has an estimate of £200-300 at Sworders on October 13.

You could also opt for this glass table lamp in the shape of a white bishop chess piece. The whimsical item goes under the hammer at Sworders in Essex on October 13 with an estimate of £200-300.

View and bid for this chess-piece table lamp here.

An actual chess set

This Staunton pattern competition weighted chess set goes under the hammer at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s Fine Art sale of October 13-14 with an estimate of £150-250.

As we said before, there are plenty of chess sets to be found at auction, and some of them make appealing decorative options in their own right. This Staunton pattern competition weighted set goes under the hammer at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s Fine Art sale of October 13-14. It features one ebonised and one boxwood side in a Jaques box with green label and has an estimate of £150-250.

View and bid for this chess set here.