Discovery of New Zealand Chess Set

This chess set, entitled The Discovery of New Zealand Chess Set, was commissioned by Riki Creative Art Ltd in 1970 to commemorate the bicentenary of James Cook’s arrival in New Zealand in 1769. One side of the chess set was meant to represent ‘the tradition, art and mystical religion of the Maori race,’ while the other represented ‘James Cook, his men and the authority and creed of his home country’ (Riki Creative Art Limited 1970).

Sculptor Frank Szirmay designed the pieces, and was asked to portray a peaceful meeting between Māori and Europeans (Woodward 1994, 74). This emphasis on New Zealand’s supposedly harmonious race relations was a marked feature of the bicentenary commemorations, which celebrated Cook’s achievements and promoted national progress. Szirmay sculpted each piece in wax, from which a mould was created. The wax was then melted and drained away, and the mould used to cast the pieces in bronze. This is known as the cire perdu (lost wax) method. 

On one side James Cook features as the King piece with Britannia, a symbol of British naval authority and the personification of the United Kingdom, as the Queen. The knight resembles the head of a dog, referencing the figurehead on HMS Resolution, one of the ships captained by Cook. The rook is a composite of an anchor and a bollard, symbolizing the great distances travelled by Cook on his long voyages, and the bishop is formed in the shape of an orb and cross to represent the authority of the church. The pawns are sculpted as seamen.

The pieces on the Māori side have been sculpted in what Szirmay understood to be ‘the fashion of Maori art of the pre-European era’ (Riki Creative Art Limited 1970). The King piece is a stylised figure of a chief, the Queen a representation of a ‘Chieftainess,’ and the pawn a Māori warrior. The bishop piece was based on a godstick (rākau atua) thought to represent Hukere. The design for the knight was derived from a drawing by Sydney Parkinson, the official artist on Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand, of the prow of a war canoe (waka taua). The rook was modelled on the form of tekoteko, carved figures on the gables of meeting houses. 

References

• Nuttall, Rebecca. 2016. ‘Commemorative Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: Exploring the bicentennial and sestercentennial of the Endeavour’s arrival in Gisborne and Tairawhiti.’ MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington.
• Woodward, Robin. 1994. 'Frank Szirmay, sculptor.' Bulletin of New Zealand Art History 15: 73-83.
• Riki Creative Art Limited. 1970. ‘The Discovery of New Zealand Chess Set in Sculptured Bronze’ Booklet.