Made in Italy. Painstakingly hand painted. 3.25 inch king. Beautifully detailed. Perfect for a 16 inch board. THE PIECES Wearing basic tunics of the common people, the gladiators are modest in their appearance. Despite this, the regal couple look elegant in their attire whilst the bishop stands tall and proud with his head held high. The knight is a fascinating mix of a gladiator wrestling an enormous lion whilst the rook is portrayed as a dungeon of sorts. The pawns are poised and armed ready for the Gladiator games to begin. By comparison, the Romans are nobly dressed. The king with his body plate armour and long red cloak grasps his sword, ready to do battle. The elegant queen is swaived in robes and a cloak, whilst the bishop looks like a member of the Senate. The Knight is a chain mailed clad soldier on a rearing steed brandishing his sword and the castle is a Roman palace. The detail in all these pieces is exquisite from the crowns on heads down to chain mail and sandals on their feet. We have also matched these superb pieces with a beautiful 15.75 inch walnut and maple board from Spain to give you The Romans vs Gladiators Chess Set. THE HISTORY Gladiator is the latin for \'swordsman\' and the earliest Roman gladiator games date back to 246 BC in the initial stages of Rome\'s First Punic War against Carthage. In honour of his dead father, Brutus Pera, Decimus Iunius Brutus Scaeva had three pairs of gladiators fight to the death in Rome\'s Cattle Market Forum. Some of these contests included animals including bears, rhinos, tigers, elephants, and giraffes. More often, it was hungry animals against other hungry animals although at times hungry animals fought against gladiators in venationes (\"wild beast hunts\").