Checkmate!

Although today it stands alone, our elephant used to be part of a chess set made in late seventeenth to early eighteenth century India.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s label describes it as a ‘bishop’, which is a little misleading as it refers to the nomenclature of modern Western chess. However, chess originated in India, from a game called chaturanga, which in Sanskrit means ‘four limbs’. Indeed, besides the raja (king) and mantri (minister or counsellor), each piece type represented a subdivision of the Indian army: chariotry, elephantry, cavalry, and infantry.In Sanskrit, ratha, hasty, asva, and padata respectively

Chaturanga is mentioned in ancient Indian epics and histories as both a battle formation and a didactic kingly pastime. Playing it equalled practicing military strategy and honing essential leadership qualities. When it reached Persia around the sixth century, in the time of the Sassanid empire, the game remained a key component of royal education, and is listed among poetry, calligraphy, horsemanship and mathematics as a prerequisite for farhang, the Persian term meaning culture, erudition.

That the same ancient texts that first mention chaturanga are also the earliest discussions on just and moral war, is no coincidence. Core principles such as treating prisoners fairly and not attacking civilians add layers of ethical and philosophical thought to the game of chess and, by extension, our little elephant piece.