Vai chess set

D r . V araschini ’ s

Vai Chess Set

Potto Editions?

- Liberia -

D r . V araschini ’ s

Vai Chess Set A visual tribute to the art of Momo Finah, woodcarver in Robertsport, Liberia.

Potto Editions?

- Liberia -

Among

the many fine objects that decorated the house of my childhood there was one particular item I was most attracted by: my father’s Vai chess set.

As a frequent player, he unsuccessfully searched for Liberian-made chess sets, thus resolving to have one made.

He found a skilled woodcarver, Momo Finah, who, unsurprisingly, had never heard of the game before.

My father thought of explaining the mere sense of the game, without describing the figures; he left it to the artist to decide for himself which figures would better personify the roles he had just heard about.

The result were two unique chess sets of which no other known copies were made; the first set, made in ebony and ivory, is well kept at my parent’s place; in the second set, made of cheaper woods, some pieces were unfortunately broken and are missing, most certainly as a consequence of my toying with the figures all the time.

Fortunately, most are in good conditions, as is the original board, also made by the carver.

This collection of images is a tribute to sculptor Momo Finah’s great skill and vision, and to my dad’s brilliant intuition; the second set is now mine (though I am still unable to play the game), and I hope to take it back to Liberia, one day.

The collection you are viewing is a cry as well, for the lost artisans of Liberia: as a result of the real war, chess are now made out of bullet shells, with a certain amount of commercial success.

I hope to see the dawn of a time where wars and strategies are uniquely fought on chess boards, and Liberian artists free to express all their visions.

Luca Bai Varaschini Milan, May 2015

Potto Editions?

- Liberia -

(is, of course, an ideal Liberian editor, ideally interested in publishing books about Liberian culture, possibly written by Liberians, ideally written for the Liberian People.)