An Abbasid or Fatimid carved rock crystal chess piece, 9th-11th century, carved with deep bevel-cut foliate designs, 4.3cm. highProvenance: Private collection, UK. Acquired in 1989 from a shop in Leeds where it was sold as a cut glass paperweight to the present owner.Note: The game of chess, which can be traced back through archaeological evidence to the second or third century, spread from the Indian subcontinent through Persia to centres such as Baghdad and Cairo.. It shares a number of stylistic and technical features with examples of similar Abbasid and Fatimid gaming pieces now in various museum collections including one close in shape, style and size in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 669:1, 2-1883). Furthermore, the present piece can be linked to two important groups of rock crystal chess pieces; notably a collection of ten from the famed Ager chess set, including two kings or viziers, two bishops, two knights, a rook and three pawns now in the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya in Kuwait (inv. no. LNS I Has-j, and published in Jenkins 1983, p.60), as well as eight rock crystal chess pieces which are now in the Diocesan Museum in Orense, Spain.A further example was sold at Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic Worlds, 9 April, 2014, Lot 100.Please refer to department for condition report