CHESMAYNE
Muse
01 A goddess that presides over a
particular art. Caissa: as
the goddess of chess - the inspiring power. The visions and
inspirations. The Muses were originally
freshwater nymphs who sang at the Banquets of the Immortals. They are goddesses of song. Benten: Japanese patroness of
learning, language, eloquence and music who holds six symbols (bow, arrow, wheel, sword, key and
jewel). Aonian: pertaining to the
Muses.
The tenth Muse, who now governs the periodical press - The Warden,
1855.
02 Song is a combination of intellect
(words) and emotion (music) and the relationship of these two gives birth to inspiration.
03 The Sirens lure sailors to
their death upon the rocks with their singing.
When the Sirens challenged the Muses in a singing contest, the Muses won
and decorated themselves with the wings and
feathers of their rivals. Other rivals of the Muses were turned into birds,
and the above may be relevant to fairy-tales,
where figures are turned into birds.
Interior Stairway,
04 The 9 daughters of Zeus and
Mnemosyne were the original Muses of Greek mythology and
each Muse/goddess is identified with a particular area of art/culture:
04A Calliope: Epic poetry. Her name means ‘beautiful voice’. Emblems: stylus and wax tablets.
04B Clio: Inventress of historical and
heroic poetry.
04C Erato: Lyric poetry.
04D Euterpe: Flute (patroness of flautists).
04E Melpomene: Tragic
poetry (lyric).
04F Polyhymnia: Sacred
song/hymn/lyre/pantomime/geometry.
04G Terpsichore: Dance
(choral poetry).
04H Thalia: Comedy.
04J Urania: Astronomy.
05 Sappho: Greek lyric poetess
born on the isle of
06 Pieria: a place in
Pope: ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian
Spring. There shallow draughts
intoxicate the brain. And drinking largely sobers us
again’.
07 The Muses taught the riddle
to the sphinx. Many itinerant singers were
blind - their handicap sharpening their powers of memory. Terpsichore is often represented in the long
robe of a citharode and bearing a lyre or
other instrument. Thalia is the Muse of
comedy in pastoral poetry and her attributes are mask and crook. Urania (the Muse of astronomy)
means ‘heavenly’.
08 Ushas (
09 Leanan Sidhe (Irish): Fairy
Mistress who encounters poets and musicians inspiring
them with her muse-like power and appears frequently in Irish poetic tradition
as the central figure of the Aisling or vision, in which the poet meets
her on a hillside.
10 The Muse (of ideas) and Wisdom are
both feminine. The best-known story
about her is the tale of Cupid and Psyche.
11 Aganippe: a fountain at the
foot of
12 Aonian: pertaining to the
Muses. They dwell in Aonia.
13 Bragi: Norse god of poetry
and eloquence who welcomes the slain heroes when arriving in
14 Castalia: sacred fountain of the Muses. Those who drink from it are given the power
of inspiring with the gift of poetry.
15 Helicon: home of the Muses
containing the fountains of Aganippe and Hippocrene and connected by
16 There are three earlier
Muses: Melete (Meditation), Nneme (Rememberance) and Aoide (Song). Originally the Muses were goddesses of
memory only, but were later identified with various arts and
sciences.
17 Museum: literally (home or
seat of the Muses).
18 Attic Muse: Xenophon (Greek
historian) - his style of composition is regarded as a model of elegance.
Chess
Collection Museum
Lobby
Welcome in
the virtual museum of our Chess collection. You are now in the lobby, the
central hall of the chess museum. From here you can directly go to:
- The North
wing, where we set up an exposition of Chess paintings made by Aad van den Bosch. Some of them are
for sale.
- The South
wing, where some Chess sets from our (actual or former) collection are
displayed.
- The Museum Office where you may find answers to your questions
about the contents, history and relations of the Museum and about this web
site. The museum guestbook can also be found in the office.
- The
museum's Chess Exchange, the place for chess collectors where 'supply
and demand' meet. Find out what we are looking for and what we have to
offer. For collectors only!
Click here to see what's new. (Latest additions of January 27, 2002)
Please click in the rooms of the Museum Map on the left side of the
screen to visit the exposition rooms.
Report on the auction
On the 20th
of November 2001 we successfully sold the largest part of our Chess Collection
at Phillips Auctioneers in London.
Especially the antique chess sets were highly valued. For example, the Spanish
Pulpit bone set was sold for £ 3500 and the English Ivory Calvert style set for
over £ 700.
Some fine sets are still for sale. For example:
·
A Berhampor East India John
Company ivory figural set, early 19th century. Excellent condition.
A similar set was sold for £ 4800 at the auction.
- A German
bone selenus set, 19th century, for any reasonable offer.
If you're interested in
these sets or if you want the full list of sets that are still for sale, please
send us an e-mail, and we will send you the requested information.
Although most sets in this virtual Chess Museum are physically no longer in our
possesion, we still want to keep them on display on the internet; just to enjoy
their beauty. That's the advantage of going
virtual: when you have sold the collection, you don't have to close the
museum.
Ströbeck’s chess museum has chess figures from all around the world
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The exhibition contains exotic chess sets of various peoples around
the world, reflecting their respective cultures. There is a chess set from Greenland, for
example, with Eskimo figures and igloo.
There are also sets from China with temple buildings and various pawn
figures representing the eight immortal gods. A highlight, and probably the most
valuable exhibit at the museum is the gift from the Great Elector Friedrich
Wilhelm in 1651 bearing the
coat of arms of Brandenburg and an inscription. Unfortunately, the silver
figures have been lost. The board can
be turned over to play the courier version of chess with 96 squares. A school group reproduced the twelve
“officers” (the eight familiar figures are supplemented by a “man”, a “fool”
and two “couriers”) and the twelve soldiers in black and white to illustrate
a modified version of our familiar game of chess.
Did
you know... ...that the
“courier” version of chess was played in Ströbeck from the 13th to
the 19th century? ...that the
“reduced” Ströbeck chess game was derived from the courier version? ...that the inhabitants of Ströbeck had to present every new sovereign on gaining the throne with a silver chess game to renew their tax-free status? |
Concept and realisation by: Bothe/Strohmenger. Translation by: Stephen Wright, Leitrim, Ireland and Susanne Heizmann, Ströbeck.