In this, his first design of chess pieces, Man Ray abandoned traditional and figurative forms of identification. Instead, he used the "ideal forms", the pure geometric forms of Euclid: cube, sphere, pyramid and cone. Instead, he made iconic references. For example, the pyramid is the Egyptian symbol of royal rule, and the cones are the shape of a queen's medieval headdress. The runner (bishop in English) is associated with a bishop's preparation of exotic liquors and spirits, requiring a pitcher. Man Ray was also a Dadaist and so he could not refrain from adding at least one discordant, but still elegant figure. The shape of the jumper is the scroll of a violin from Man Ray's studio. Geometrically, the jumper in the form of a snail represents the Fibonacci sequence, which describes the spiral growth in natural forms.

Details:

- Design: Man Ray

- Material: Veneered beech wood

- Made in Germany under the license of the Man Ray Trust, 2012.