25 September 2015

Chess Art Mada

Although there was no description for this photo, the tags said, 'Museum Plymouth'. But which Plymouth?


A game of chess © Flickr user Glamhag under Creative Commons.

With the help of the usual tools, I found a page titled It's the Spanish Art Mada!.

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery will be holding a fun family event on Saturday 27 September [2014] inspired by the Spanish Armada. [...] ‘Here Comes the Armada’ is inspired by the ‘A Royal Game’ sculpture that recently returned to the Museum and Art Gallery following 20 years on loan to Buckland Abbey.

The plaster sculpture was made in 1906 by William Reynolds-Stephens and depicts Queen Elizabeth I playing an imaginary game of chess with Phillip II of Spain. The chess pieces are shaped like galleons and the sculpture itself is a metaphor for England’s war with Spain and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

The zoomed version of the Flickr image shows the boats clearly.

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