One of the world’s earliest surviving chess sets ♟️ This nearly complete set dates to the 12th century and is believed to come from Nishapur, Iran. Made of molded and glazed stonepaste, the pieces take beautifully abstract forms: the shah (king) appears as a throne, the vizier as a smaller throne, the elephant with tusk-like projections, the horse marked by a triangular head, the chariot shaped as a rectangular block with a wedge on top, and the pawns as faceted hemispheres with small knobs. This set is now preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.