09/12/2025
Art Deco King Chessman Brooch by Raymond Templier, Paris, circa 1930
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Raymond Templier often worked in an all-white palette, as in this chessman brooch, exploring the interplay of light and shadow between polished and pavé surfaces. He was fascinated with games, accepting commissions for boxing belts, various sports trophies, and creating posters for the Tennis Federation. For this jewel, Templier was inspired by chess, a game of strategy and logic with ancient roots that evolved over time and location moving from India to Persia to the Western World, eventually becoming the game we have today. In the Art Deco period, when Templier made the brooch, chess was an elegant leisure time activity featured on ocean liners, resorts, and in glamorous conferences.
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To win a game in chess a player must checkmate the opponents king, placing the piece in a position of capture that has no escape. The King, surmounted by a cross, symbolizes authority, power, and vulnerability. Templier beautifully rendered the king in brooch form with overlapping segments creating a sense of movement and dimensionality. He said, “The composition of a jewel must be both free, dynamic, and condensed, enclosed.” Without a superfluous element, the brooch is a masterpiece of Art Deco design allowing light and shadow to create volume. The French publication Le Figaro summed up his achievements, “His works are of such undisputed quality that, even though they