The Sikh Empire Series Triple Weighted Wooden Handmade Chess Pieces in Bud Rosewood (Padauk) and Indian Boxwood - 4.5" King

chessbazaar and our carvers pay our sincere tributes to the courage and valor of all the forces of Sikh Empire who stood tall and showed the ultimate resilience to fight for the motherland and against injustice. Learn more about the Sikh Empire.

Sikh Empire: The Sikh Empire a.k.a. Khalsa raaj was established in the undivided Indian subcontinent of Punjab from 1799 till 1849 now part of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. The seed of the Sikh empire was laid against the injustice and cruelty of the Mughal Empire in India by the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab India. 

Dal Khalsa Period and The Empire: In August 1708, Guru Gobind SIngh rechristened Banda Singh Bahadur from Madho Das and ordered him to reconquer Punjab region from the clutches of the Mughals. He was captured while defending his fort in 1716 along with his 700 men and his 5-year-old son and was torched and executed after refusing to convert to Islam. The period from 1716 to 1799 was a highly turbulent time politically and militarily in the Punjab region due to the absence of leadership. The vacuum was filled by the Sikh misls(caste) which were unified by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The main geographical footprint of the empire was from the Punjab region to Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. In 1799, Ranjit Singh moved the capital of the Sikh Empire to Lahore, Punjab(now Pakistan) from Gujranwala. 

The population of Khalsa empire during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh first tenure of 1800s rule was estimated to be around 12 million people. The religious composition of that time is composed of : Muslims 8.4 million, Hindus 2.88 million and Sikhs 722,000.

The Khanda: The inspiration for the King finial is taken from the double-edged sword of Sikh religious symbol Khanda (not to be confused by the Emblem of Iran). The word khanda has its origins in the Sanskrit word khaḍga or khaá¹…ga, from a root khaṇḍ meaning "to break, divide, cut, destroy". The King comes with two beauteous king finials(each side) & proudly stands at 4.5 inches and its base is robust 1.9 inches. Changing the king finials is a quick and easy job. This is a luxury design featuring the magnificently robust and solitary knight.  

The Knight: The knight is inspired by the armored warrior horse of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Laili.      

A piece of art: Handcrafted in India, by the sikh carvers of Amritsar whose forefathers were part of the Golden era of Punjab. 

Our team of expert carvers put their hearts into the smallest little details of this chess set and have closely worked to bring out this chessmen as close to the history as it can be. The result of the hard work of these master craftsmen is a truly wonderful design and a masterpiece that any connoisseur will admire.

Chess Pieces Weight: 2126 grams (74.99 oz). Please note that the weight in the set is added manually so the final weight of the set can vary by plus or minus (±) 10%.

Uniformity of pieces: The shapes of turned pieces are guided by metal profiles and so all turned pieces are identical especially the pawns. You can expect some variation where hand carving or cutting comes i.e. knights.

Weights: The set is heavily weighted with lead and so they are a pleasure to hold and will last for years if maintained properly in a dry and clean place.

In-Box items: Retail package consists of 34 chessmen, 2 extra queens included. 

Disclaimer: Product color may slightly vary due to photographic lighting sources or your monitor settings.

Caution: These chess pieces are neither waterproof nor UV-resistant

Shipping: We offer FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the world. For North America, UK, Australia, Europe, and India the item will be shipped by FedEx expedited service and for Latin America, Russia, Japan and the rest of the world, it will be shipped by India Post Regd. Parcel. Delivery period may vary from 4-6 days for FedEx and 15-25 days for Registered Parcel. We assure you that you won't pay any additional taxes or customs duty after your payment at chessbazaar.com. Know More

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