The Chessmen Museum has been able to add a colourful Polish chess game to its collection this year. The chess pieces are wooden figurines wearing detailed costumes. Poland has a rich regional dress tradition and every region or town has its own style. The big question is: which two groups do the chess pieces represent?
The background information on this chess game is very brief unfortunately, and doesn´t answer the question. After a long investigation, the interpretation of these grand chess pieces is as following: on this chessboard, the residents of the ancient city of Krakow are facing the Gorals, the inhabitants of the Tatra Mountains. Both Krakow and the more southerly situated Tatra Mountains are located in the region of Malopolska (Lesser Poland).
Coral traditional dress, around 1877
Festival attire
Traditional costumes play an important part in the cultural life of the Polish people. Nowadays, costumes are brought out for the many festivals or religious holidays and processions. The colourful and abundantly decorated costumes aren´t regular garments, except in the Tatra Mountains, where some of the Goral people wear their costumes on a daily basis. This mountain tribe that lives on the border with Slovakia is famous not only for their traditional dress but also for their music and corresponding folk dances.
The Goral traditional dress is more practical and isn´t decorated with as many frills, tassels and patterns as the festival garments are. Another important difference is the colour: the Goral costumes are the colour of sheep wool; they could have perfectly modelled for the white chess pieces. The unmistakable black headgear and identical patterns at the top of the trouser legs can also be found on the chessboard, in particular where the pawns are concerned.
Krakow male costume
Military influences
The Krakow costumes have a different history. The originally rural dress became very popular after freedom fighter Tadeusz Kosciuszko, together with an army of peasants, rebelled against the Russians in 1794. Certain features of this traditional costume were also very popular among Polish nationalists in the 19th century. The regional attire even ended up becoming part of the national costume. Military influences can also still be found in this regional dress, such as the tassels that refer to the uniform of the Hussars.
Now, the black chess pieces are not decorated with tassels, but the reason I associate these costumes with Krakow is the red headgear. The red, square krakuska from Krakow is very famous and appears to have been the inspiration for the Polish konfederatka (Polish cavalry headgear) at the time of the war against Napoleon. After that it modelled for the current military headgear called Rogatywka. A fact that the citizens of Krakow are proud of. Or maybe, in the case of our chess pieces, we are dealing with the richly decorated tschepatz (a type of bonnet)? Whoever has the answer, please speak up!
Chessmen in Krakow costume, including the tschepatz?
The long coats worn by the kings of the chessboard look slightly out of place when you look at the traditional costume. For centuries, the elite wore long capes or cloaks (with or without sleeves) with decorative buttons down the front: the kontusz. Although the nationalist noblemen dressed in typically Polish costume, a lot of the aristocrats followed the latest international trends in fashion. It has mainly been the Polish farmers who have kept the ethnic clothing style alive for all these centuries.
Urban elite against poor mountain people?
What battle is being fought on the chessboard? Are the mountain people facing the elite from the royal city of Krakow? Or are both parties striving to give their best traditional dance performance? One of the most cherished folk dances in Poland is a fast love dance, the krakowiak. The carnival dance known to us as the polonaise is originally from Poland, but its presentation is much more solemn there. It was a dance for the aristocracy, not the common people. During the polonaise, the elite paired up to form a long line and present themselves to the newly elected king. Nowadays, folk dancing is still very popular in Poland, where many people are members of special dance groups. The dancers, dressed in the traditional costume of their town or region, are accompanied by flutes, xylophones, drums, violins and accordions.
The 16th century is also called the Golden Age of Poland and the royal court in Krakow was the centre of Polish art life. Krakow had been the capital of the Polish Empire since 1038 and from 1320 onwards coronations took place there. As far back as the 14th century, scholars from all over Europe came to study at the University of Krakow and international merchants were also quick to find the new commercial town. The city thrived culturally, mainly because of the demands of generous patrons at the court and the Catholic Church. This included Polish music, and the most famous composer has to be Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). He really appreciated the folk music as it is still performed by the Gorals, and he even incorporated it into his own compositions. In this way, and often unaware, admirers of Chopin´s music get acquainted with the rich Polish folklore.
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