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Makonde Chess Set
Makonde chess sets are made by the Makonde tribe of south-west Tanzania and Mozambique who have for centuries been greatly skilled in wood carving and Makonde art is a distinctive style. Chess sets were originally made for export to Europe but the pattern of the pieces follows traditional Makonde designs rather than any established chess pattern. History The European market for Makonde art developed from the 1930s through Portuguese colonization. Chess sets were first exported by Norman Kirk, a New Zealander who owned a lime and cashew nut plantation in Tanzania (then Tanganyika). Kirk had been impressed by the work of the Makonde artist Likenikeni Sabini after visiting his workshop at Ndanda mission in the 1950s. After this visit he began buying and exporting Makonde art to Europe. Kirk enticed Sabini to come and work for him at his plantation where Sabini trained other carvers for Kirk. At some point Kirk initiated production of chess sets and the product became popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makonde Chess Set From East Africa African Blackwood And Blond Hardwood 20th Century CE in Mozambique is also referred to as the Makonde or Maconde plateau.
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Makonde may refer to: * Makonde people, an ethnic group from East Africa * Makonde art, the art of the Makonde people * Makonde language, the language spoken by the Makonde people * Makonde (District), a district of the Mashonaland West province of Zimbabwe * Makonde Plateau, a plateau in the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. The adjacent Mueda Plateau The Mueda Plateau, also known as the Maconde Plateau, is a plateau in Cabo Delgado Province of northeastern Mozambique. Geography The Mueda Plateau lies between the Ruvuma River on the north, which forms the border with Tanzania, and the Messal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fez (hat)
The fez (, ), also called tarboosh ( ar, طربوش, translit=ṭarbūš, derived from fa, سرپوش, translit=sarpuš, lit=cap), is a felt headdress in the shape of a short cylindrical peakless hat, usually red, and sometimes with a black tassel attached to the top. The name "fez" refers to the Moroccan city of Fez, where the dye to colour the hat was extracted from crimson berries. Despite its name, the original centre of production appears to have been in Tunis, not Fez. The modern fez owes much of its popularity to the Ottoman era. The fez became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. In 1827, Mahmud II mandated the fez as a modern headdress for his new army, the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. The decision was inspired by the Ottoman naval command, who had previously returned from the Maghreb having embraced the style. In 1829, Mahmud issued new regulations mandating use of the fez by all civil and religious officials. The intention was to replace the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanzanian Culture
Following Tanganyika's independence (1961) and unification with Zanzibar (1964), leading to the formation of the state of Tanzania, President Julius Nyerere emphasised a need to construct a national identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided what has been regarded by some commentators as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa. With over 130 ethnic groups and local languages spoken, Tanzania is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. Despite this, ethnic divisions have remained rare in Tanzania, especially when compared to the rest of the continent. Natural history The territory of Tanzania is home to some of the world's important archaeological excavations and their scientific interpretation: Olduvai Gorge The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important paleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Art
African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as: African American, Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa. Pottery, metalwork, sculpture, architecture, textile art and fibre art are important visual art forms across Africa and may be included in the study of African art. The term "African art" does not usually include the art of the North African areas along the Mediterranean coast, as such areas had long been part of different traditions. For more than a millennium, the art of such areas had formed part of Berber or Islamic art, although with many particular local characteristics. The Art of E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Sets
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games, such as xiangqi (Chinese chess) and shogi (Japanese chess). The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as we know them today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no use of dice or cards. It is played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staunton Chess Set
The Staunton chess set is the standard style of chess pieces, recommended for use in competition by FIDE, the international chess governing body. The journalist Nathaniel Cooke is credited with the design on the patent, and they are named after the leading English chess master Howard Staunton, who endorsed it; the first 500 sets were numbered and hand-signed by Staunton. This style of set was first made available by Jaques of London in 1849, and it quickly became the standard. The set style and its variations have been used around the world since. Old-style chess sets During the late 18th century and early 19th century, the increased interest in the game of chess, particularly in international play, brought about a renewed demand for a more universal model for chess pieces. The variety and styles of the conventional form, which began in the 15th century, had expanded tremendously by the beginning of the 19th century. Conventional types popular during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenus Chess Set
The Selenus chess set is a style of chess set, in use before the standardization of chess pieces that happened after the Staunton chess set was launched in 1849 by games manufacturer John Jaques of London. The Selenus sets were typical of Germany and Northern Europe and are named after Gustavus Selenus, the pen name of Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, author of the Chess or the King's Game (German: Das Schach- oder Königsspiel), an important chess manual published in the 17th century. The standard included delicate lathe turned bases and shafts and tiers with circlets resembling crowns. Pieces were distinguished by heights, the number of tiers and sometimes by symbols. These chessmen are also called Garden Chess Sets because their theme frequently consisted of "formal flower gardens" - Kings and Queens were Fountains; Bishops and Pawns were flowers; Knights were gentle horses; and Rooks became civic towers instead of battlements. In England they were frequently c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dubrovnik Chess Set
The Dubrovnik chess set is a style of chess pieces influenced by the Staunton chess set and used to play the game of chess. These chessmen are considered to have significant historical importance and are regarded as a timeless design classic. Over the decades the Dubrovnik chessmen were redesigned several times. 1950 Dubrovnik chess set The 9th Chess Olympiad was organized by the FIDE and the government of Yugoslavia, supported by Josip Broz Tito. References {{chess Chess sets Dubrovnik 1950 in chess Products introduced in 1950 1970 in chess Products introduced in 1970 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the Western world is the wood of ''Dalbergia nigra''. It is best known as "Brazilian rosewood", but also as "Bahia rosewood". This wood has a strong, sweet smell, which persists for many years, explaining the name ''rosewood''. Another classic rosewood comes from ''Dalbergia latifolia'', known as (East) Indian rosewood or ''sonokeling'' (Indonesia). It is native to India and is also grown in plantations elsewhere in Pakistan (Chiniot). Madagascar rosewood (''Dalbergia maritima''), known as ''bois de rose'', is highly prized for its red color. It is overexploited in the wild, despite a 2010 moratorium on trade and illegal logging, which continues on a large scale. Throughout southeast Asia, ''Dalbergia oliveri'' is harvested for use in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Blackwood
''Dalbergia melanoxylon'' (African blackwood, grenadilla, or mpingo) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The tree is an important timber species in its native areas; it is used in the manufacture of musical instruments and fine furniture. Populations and genomic resources for genetic biodiversity maintenance in parts of its native range are threatened by overharvesting due to poor or absent conservation planning and by the species' low germination rates. It is a small tree, reaching 4–15 m tall, with grey bark and spiny shoots. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternate, 6–22 cm long, pinnately compound, with 6–9 alternately arranged leaflets. The flowers are white and produced in dense clusters. The fruit is a pod 3–7 cm long, containing one to two seeds. Uses The dense, lustrous wood ranges in colour from redd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch Doctor
A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of Folk healer, healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to Alternative medicine, healers, particularly in regions which use traditional medicine, traditional healing rather than evidence-based medicine, contemporary medicine. Original meaning of the term In its original meaning, witch doctors were not exactly witches themselves, but rather people who had remedies to protect others against witchcraft. Witchcraft-induced conditions were their area of expertise, as described in this 1858 news report from England: Recourse was had by the girl's parents to a cunning man, named Burrell, residing at Copford, who has long borne the name of "The Wizard of the North:" but her case was of so peculiar a character as to baffle his skill to dissolve the spell, Application was next made to a witch doctor named Murrell, residing at Hadleigh, Essex, who undertook ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mitres are worn in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, for important ceremonies, by the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and also, in the Catholic Church, all cardinals, whether or not bishops, and some Eastern Orthodox archpriests. Etymology μίτρα, ''mítra'' ( Ionic μίτρη, ''mítrē'') is Greek, and means a piece of armour, usually a metal guard worn around the waist and under a cuirass, as mentioned in Homer's Iliad. In later poems, it was used to refer to a headband used by women for their hair; and a sort of formal Babylonian headdress, as mentioned by Herodotus ('' Histories'' 1.195 and 7.90 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
