Chess Set (English)
From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Artist/Maker: Unknown
Created: 1800-1840
Origin/Purchase: Uncertain; possibly London.
Materials: ivory
Dimensions:
Location: Parlor
Owner: Alderman Library, University of Virginia
Accession Number: 1949-5-1/32
Historical Notes: This set has abstract, rather than figural pieces made of turned and carved ivory. it is of a popular type usually called "barley corn." The dark figures are stained red with cochineal, a dye commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries which is derived from the dried bodies of females of the scale insect Dactylopius coccus. It is not known exactly when and where Thomas Jefferson acquired this set. It is one of two owned by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
