French Art Deco Robj, Templars and Saracen Chess Set, 1920s, Set of 33

Superb and extremely rare robj templar and saracen chess set from the french art deco period circa 1930.

beautiful and comical detail on the pieces. Exotic wood chess board of origin.

in very good condition.

dimensions in cm ( h x l x l ) :
– chess board: 1.8 x 39.9 x 34.7
– height of king : 11.5
– height of pawn : 7.2

the story begins in 1908 with jean born, whose name is changed to robj. He became interested in electric igniters and registered the models in 1910. Two years after the first world war, he repeated the operation, incorporating artistic porcelain trinkets. In 1922, he died in an automobile accident, and lucien willmetz, a shareholder in the company, took over its management. It was he who truly influenced and shaped robj’s style. He surrounded himself with sculptors, model-makers and fire technicians, and instituted a competition for “bibelots d’arts en céramique”, a veritable breeding ground for talent until 1931. He had excellent contacts in the world of objets d’art publishers, and the climate was conducive to decorative innovation. The characteristics of robj objects were perfectly in tune with the zeitgeist, and success was immediate. In 1928, the company’s most successful product line appeared: its liqueur bottles. In 1929, based on the same principle, tobacco jars appeared. Elegance, modernity and originality are omnipresent, while retaining a cheerful, inventive spirit, and the mix of themes and subjects also contributes to this success. For production, several major ceramics centers were called upon: the manufacture de sèvres, villeroy et boch in luxembourg, several factories in limoges, and a decoration workshop with a muffle kiln in boulogne-sur-seine. Today, the manufacture de villeroy et boch, which produced objects for robj between 1925 and 1938, is reissuing the main models in hand-painted porcelain.

bibliography : art – goût – beauté, feuillets de l’élégance féminine. N° 124, décembre 1930. Un modèle identique est reproduit dans une partie consacrée aux éditeurs de l’époque, non paginée. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
issues arising from misattribution