Manuela Gressani checks out the Asian cultural and intellectual roots of gameplay, through an Indian Elephant Chess Piece from the late 17th to early 18th century.
Chaturanga was first played in 6th century India, a tabletop testing ground for court politicians' imperial tactics. Successive conquests carried the game across continents, leaving distinctly Persian and Chinese imprints, before arriving in Europe as chess. Adapted for local tastes and hierarchies, ivory was swapped with stone and jade, and elephants for bishops and castles. Still, shrunk down to the size of a tabletop board, the Indian Raja, the Persian Shah, the Chinese General, and the European King and Queen, all possessed the same agency as in their respective settings.
Picking up these pieces challenges our tendency to associate chess with western intellect and popularity, exposing the layers of European imperialist and orientalist bias that blur our understanding of Asian histories. Beyond a simple game, chessboards, pieces, and rules, are historically socially significant symbols, revealing the complexities of pre-modern global interactions outwith Europe - and the great debt we owe them.
You can also read Manuela's full article on the Indian Elephant Chess Piece in Things That Talk, a project exploring humanities through the life of objects.
PRESENTER: Manuela Gressani, History of Art MA graduate from the Courtauld Institute of Art. She specialises in the art of the Safavid Empire in the 15th and 16th century.
ART: Indian Elephant Chess Piece (c. 17th-18th Century).
IMAGE: ‘Chess Piece, Bishop'.
SOUNDS: Karpov not Kasparov.
PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.

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