Man Ray's silver chess set, owned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is an iconic work of early 20th century design. The story of its journey to that museum involves all the elements of a good chess match -- power plays, deception and reversals of fortune.

Man Ray, an American ex-pat born Emmanuel Radnitzky, began his chess career in Paris, playing against his fellow art provocateur Marcel Duchamp. Man Ray was mediocre at chess, but was quick to see its artistic possibilities. In 1926, he was introduced to the wealthy Maharajah of Indore by Henri Pierre-Roche, a French diplomat and avid collector of both artwork and other men's wives.

The Maharajah wanted pieces of art that juxtaposed the historical and the contemporary. Chess, a game that originated in India, made the perfect medium for this project. Man Ray designed the Maharajah an oversized set of silver-plated pieces which, according to art historian Larry List, combined "the rigor and geometric discipline of Cezanne with the high style of Art Deco."

Man Ray made three complete sets, one for the Maharajah, one for himself, and one for incorrigible Roche, who, during the subsequent decades, continued to play games of his own. The culmination was a torrid Parisian love triangle -- the inspiration for the Truffaut classic Jules et Jim -- between Roche's and his good friends, the novelist Franz Hessel and his wife Helen.

In 1947 Helen Hessel left France for New York. As a parting gift Roche gave her his copy of the silver chess set. A year later, broke and desperate, Hessel wrote to Man Ray for advice. It is unclear what response she received, but a few months later she sold the silver set to the Museum of Modern Art. The price: $250.

It's tough to imagine every getting a deal that good again, but the newly issued replica at the Francis Naumann Gallery, in a limited lot of ten numbered sets, has a lot to offer. The set is 240 ounces of solid silver in total and the pieces come in a straight-grain walnut case with a walnut and maple board.

Most importantly, you can actually play with this set. In 1945, when Man Ray sent his personal copy to a gallery, it came with a letter explaining that the set was not for chess, a point he emphasized by screwing the pieces to the board. But the message also said that he wanted to create a version for gaming, inspiring his trust to create this smaller replica, based on measurements he sketched in the letter. --BEN POPPER

Price -- $60,000
francisnaumann.com
212-472-6800

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