Nelson Mandela Chess Set

Amazing Africa Gifts brings you a twist to South African Politics. Our Nelson Mandela Chess Set features some key figures from the Apartheid era. The unique chess pieces include Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and FW De Klerk amongst others. The chess set is made from wood and polystone and is hand-painted by South African artists.

This piece of African art is a board game of the highest quality and makes a perfect gift or interior decor conversation piece. Although South Africa is now a free and democratic society, we must never forget the struggle and history of how this freedom was won.

The apartheid themed chess pieces consist of:

• The king - Nelson Mandala & F.W. de Klerk
• The queen - Winnie Mandela & Marike de Klerk
• The knight - Journalist & Eugene Terblanche on his horse
• The bishop - Bishop Desmond Tutu & "Pik" Botha
• The rook/castle - Robben Island Light House & NG Kerk Church
• The pawn – Robben Island prisoners & guards

Amazing Africa Gifts crafting and material details

Both the set’s chess pieces and board frame are cast by hand in polystone (a unique mixture of crushed stone and resin) and painted by hand in incredible detail by our exceptionally talented team of South African artists using high-quality Winsor and Newton oil paints. The wooden chess board itself is also carved by hand, as are the molds that are used for the chess pieces. The molds for the pieces in the small set are exactly the same design as in the larger set and are made to scale using 3D printing. The pieces in the smaller set are also cast and painted by hand.

The board squares are created from koto and cherry wood, and then treated in accordance with international import standards and requirements. The board is then set in its polystone frame which boasts a stunning African design.

Each set (board, pieces and frame) takes approximately nine (9) hours to be crafted from start to finish by our extremely skilled and talented artisans and craftspeople, with some time allocated during the process for the paint to dry.

Chess Set Sizes:

Packaging:

We take the utmost care in packing our gorgeous chess sets, such that they are delivered to you safely and in their entirety after the shipping process.

Every individual chess piece is set in their own box-dye cut foam holder, accompanied by extra foam top and bottom covers for the set as a whole. Additionally, the wooden board is wrapped in bubble wrap so that it can absorb any shock while in transit, without sustaining any damage.

The complete set is placed in a sturdy double-walled cardboard box which contains polystyrene packing peanuts which further protect the chess set during shipping. While we take the greatest care to ensure that the set gets to you in one piece, we know that accidents do happen – so, if any pieces arrived damaged, we will replace them entirely at no cost to you.

Shipping Information

All Gala Star products are manufactured in South Africa and therefore shipping takes some time and incurs some costs. Shipping costs to the USA, UK, and Europe from South Africa vary in terms of time and cost. Please refer to our shipping policies page for further details.

Sales tax, VAT, and customs duty

Please note that for all our customers outside of USA and outside South Africa, we do not calculate sales tax, VAT, import or customs duties and these may be due upon the product arriving at your customs office.

For our South African customers, please note that all prices including shipping are quoted excluding VAT (15%) which will be added to the price at checkout. Gala Star is a registered VAT vendor in South Africa.

For our USA customers, we will add any sales tax to your orders where we qualify for Sales Tax registration.

FREE SHIPPING FOR USA:

We offer free shipping for USA customers for order over $50. Please note that for customers in other countries shipping will be calculated on checkout. Please refer to our shipping policies page for further details.

SALES TAX, VAT, AND CUSTOMS DUTY

Please note the above price excludes sales tax, VAT or customs or import duties. United States customers will have sales tax added upon checkout where required, and South African clients will have VAT added. For the rest of the world you may incur import duties that are for your account.