Vintage Brass King Brian Boru Bust Sculpture Emeralds Celtic Ireland 1987

  

Nicely detailed bust sculpture of Brian Boru with 6 inlaid emeralds. I acquired this as part of a collection of unique antique and vintage estate items. I do not know anything about this item or the Thasek company firsthand but an article (image attached) from Ireland's Meath Chronicle Newspaper goes into detail about two men from Navan Ireland debuting a chess set on national television followed by an Australian television and then plans for the US market back in 1987. "The Battle of Clontarf Heritage Chess Suite" would have Brian Boru as one of the two Kings.

I imagine this was a prototype, a work that lead up to the chess set or subsequent to since it weighs a hefty 12 oz. Thasek Trading Company that was incorporated in 1987 and dissolved in 1995.