Description
Two old men, one board, and a park bench in the Place des Vosges: Albert and Raymond had played checkers every afternoon for nineteen years, and the score, according to Albert, was dead even. They played in sunshine and drizzle, in heatwaves and in scarves, and once, famously, beneath a borrowed umbrella held by a passing tourist.
According to Raymond, he was ahead by eleven games. Pigeons came and went, children grew up and wheeled their own babies past, and still the two of them played on, sipping coffee from a battered thermos. This porcelain box, painted with a classic checkerboard pattern in rich colors, captures that long and affectionate rivalry. Give it to the family champion, a grandfather who taught you every trick he knew, or two old friends who still meet for a weekly game. On a desk or games table it makes a handsome reminder that the very best contests never truly end.
Piece details
- A classic checkerboard pattern
- Rendered in rich, deep colors
- Crisp hand-painted squares and borders
- By Rochard
- Limoges porcelain, each square filled in by hand in France
Give it to celebrate a retirement, a Father’s Day or a grandparent’s birthday, perhaps alongside a real set of checkers for the next generation. Someone will inevitably claim the porcelain board as a trophy, and the rematch will be scheduled before the wrapping paper has been cleared away.
