New Zealand Chess Set with Maori and European Figures
A 'Discovery of New Zealand Chess Set' sculpted by Frank Szirmay, for Riki Creative Art Ltd., 1970, in bronze, limited edition37/1025; the opposing sides represented as Maori and European, the king-piece of the Maori side a poutokomanawa, its opposite by Capt. James Cook. Szirmay, a Hungarian refugee to New Zealand produced monuments for the Cook Bicentenary, the centenary of Tauranga Harbour, and the post Napier-earthquake the 'Spirit of Napier' statue. Complete with accompanying original tawa chess table with palisander and sycamore inlaid board.
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- Amaranth / Purpleheart / Palisander - Amaranth, also called "purpleheart" and palisander is a hardwood obtained flowering plants in tropical regions of Central and South America, where they grow in rainforests. When the trees are cut, the timber turns from a dark brown to a rich purple colour. It is mainly used for veneering and decorative features on furniture, and is extremely dense when dry.
- Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
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