Chess Souvenir

This gilt-bronze Souvenir Rook (1897) by Carlo and Arthur Giuliano was made to commemorate the historical chess match played between The House of Commons in London and The House of Representatives in Washington D.C. in 1897. The match, which lasted two days, was played by means of cable and resulted in a draw: 2½ games to 2½ games. Each player is thought to have received one of these chess pieces as a memento of the match. This rook is the star piece in a private collection of chess sets and game boards which comes up for auction at Christie's in London on 7 December.