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Differences between the 3 official Dubrovnik sets?

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WandelKoningin

What are the differences between the original Dubrovnik designed by Pero Poček (1949), the Dubrovnik II designed by Andrija Maurović (1960), and the Dubrovnik III created for the 19th Chess Olympiad (1970)?

From what I can read, the Dubrovnik II often had finials of the opposite color on the king and queen rather than the bishops, but I’m not finding examples of this. Below is an original set from 1960 (the image used to be on the House of Staunton website; I upscaled the image with AI and isolated the pieces from the background).

Below is a Staunton Castle reproduction of the original Dubrovnik. I don’t know how authentic this is, but the knight is considerably different. The crown of the queen also seems to be sharper, and the finial is smaller.

The Dubrovnik III is said to have a more refined knight and a more streamlined appearance of the pieces, resulting in a sleeker aesthetic. But I’m not finding examples of this; reproductions look virtually the same to me apart from the knight (see the Staunton Castle reproduction below). I guess the rim below the head of the pawn is more refined. Beyond that, the pieces look fairly close to the 1960 version with a more squarish mitre on the bishop, and a less sharp crown on the queen. So this makes sense in terms of a gradual evolution of the design. The knight looks more angular, and this time the head is larger than the neck/body, so the proportions seem to have reversed compared to the previous two designs.

Does anyone have good photos of the original sets from 1950 and 1970 so I can compare them to the 1960 version, and get a sense of how authentic the reproductions are?

DesperateKingWalk

I purchased the Staunton Castle 1950 Dubrovnik in Ebony. As it is one of the finest reproductions. As the video says, a perfect 1950 Dubrovnik. 10 out of 10...

phpsR8K94.jpg

chesslover0003
WandelKoningin wrote:

Does anyone have good photos of the original sets from 1950 and 1970 so I can compare them to the 1960 version, and get a sense of how authentic the reproductions are?

Izmet and Noj’s website have photos of a set from the IX Olympiad.

A few differences between Pocek and Maurovic design are the cuts in the queen’s crown and yhe Maurovic pieces are a little more robust, rounded and thicker.

minor variations IMO. There is a video where somone discusses the origin of the Dubrovnik knight from Vienna coffee house designs (compared to Selena’s horse of Nathaniel Cooke’s design. The video goes into detail proportions and alignment of nose and tail of the knight. No reproduction has been able to match this aspect of the knight.

WandelKoningin
DesperateKingWalk wrote:

I purchased the Staunton Castle 1950 Dubrovnik in Ebony. As it is one of the finest reproductions. As the video says, a perfect 1950 Dubrovnik. 10 out of 10...

This is very useful, thank you!

WandelKoningin
chesslover0003 wrote:
WandelKoningin wrote:

Does anyone have good photos of the original sets from 1950 and 1970 so I can compare them to the 1960 version, and get a sense of how authentic the reproductions are?

Izmet and Noj’s website have photos of a set from the IX Olympiad.

A few differences between Pocek and Maurovic design are the cuts in the queen’s crown and yhe Maurovic pieces are a little more robust, rounded and thicker.

minor variations IMO. There is a video where somone discusses the origin of the Dubrovnik knight from Vienna coffee house designs (compared to Selena’s horse of Nathaniel Cooke’s design. The video goes into detail proportions and alignment of nose and tail of the knight. No reproduction has been able to match this aspect of the knight.

Oh wow, I had no idea the knight originates from Vienna coffeehouse sets! What does Selena’s horse refer to? Is that the name of the Jaques knight?

chesslover0003

Selene’s horse is from the Elgin marbles used by Nathaniel Cooke.

WandelKoningin
chesslover0003 wrote:

Selene’s horse is from the Elgin marbles used by Nathaniel Cooke.

Ah right! I’ve heard it referred to as the Elgin Marble knight.