Bidspirit auction | Ancient Islamic Stone Gaming Chess

Ancient Islamic Stone Gaming Chess Piece, Elephant (Bishop), Abbasid period - This small carved stone chess piece, about 5.5 cm tall, during the Abbasid period, It is believed to represent a stylized elephant, the piece known in early Islamic chess as “al-fil” (which later became the bishop in modern chess). Because Islamic art often avoided realistic human or animal depictions, the figure is abstract and simplified, with subtle features suggesting the elephant’s head and trunk. Such pieces were used in the early form of chess called Shatranj, which spread across the Islamic world and later influenced the development of modern Chess. 5.5 cm tall