He fram’d a tablet of celestial mold
Inlay’d with squares of silver and of gold;
Then of two metals form’d the warlike band,
That here compact in show of battle stand;
He taught the rules that guide the pensive game,
And call’d it Cassa from the dryad’s name.
Canst thou no play, no soothing game devise;
To make thee lovely in the damsel’s eyes?
Of chess’ many origin stories, the tale of Caissa (kah-EE-suh) perhaps best captures the enchanting beauty of the game.
Inspired by Marco Girolamo Vida’s 1527 poem Scacchia Ludus, English philologist Sir William Jones, wrote Caissa, detailing Mars’ attempt to win over the alluring yet elusive woman the poem is named after.
Mars gifts Caissa with the beautiful and elaborately designed chess set and proceeds to teach the goddess the ways of the game. In the end, he wins more than just her affection and she, eternal fame.
Caissa’s legacy is one of luck, often thought to guide or inspire players on their journey through the game.
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
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ATAB Chess Dhurrie Set
Shot by Charlie Hawks
Dhurrie [dur-ee] - noun
From Hindi dari
(also durrie, durry, or dari)
A hand-woven rug or thin flat carpet
A heavy cotton rug of Indian origin
You cannot explain what a chess piece is without first expressing the rule it serves. What is a bishop if not the piece that can move diagonally across the board? A rook without its horizontal and vertical inclinations? The fact of the matter is, that the rules define the piece. And thus, if we are to know a pawn or a queen only through its function, the idea of reimagining the chess set becomes an exciting project to embark on, rethinking not the rules of the game, but the tactility and utility of its tools.
