The very first chess set I ever made was based on sea shells and other sea creatures. Back then I lived close to the sea, so a few hours searching for sea shells on the Scheveningen beach got me everything I needed. Cockles for the rooks, crab carapaces for the knights (crabs often partly moving sideways matched the move of the knight, I felt), mussels for the bishops, razor shells for the queen and a whelk for the king. Ordinary surf clams for the pawns, and all pieces mounted on draught stones. The 'white' set was painted white, and the 'black' set metallic blue; I felt those colours captured 'the sea'. Board was made from plywood, with the squares painted white and metallic blue.
I was rather pleased with it, to be honest! Sadly, the set is long gone, and all I have left of it are two pictures.
Not ruling out, by the way, that I'll make another chess set from sea shells in the future. It won't be identical to this first one, though!
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