AN ANGLO-INDIAN IVORY CHESS SET

See Victor Keats, The Illustrated Guide to World Chess Sets, Batsford Ltd., plate 10 for a very similar set. Keats discusses these sets as 'Kashmir' sets with pawns portraying the old East India Company's (John) troops versus those of native rulers and princes.
This type has been attributed to Berhampur, in the Bengal area, relatively close to Calcutta. Berhampur was established by the British as a barrack town in 1765 after the Battle of Plassey. The settlement of the colonisers created a demand for skilled craftsman to produce export goods, encouraging many of the talented ivory carvers from Delhi to migrate south, subseqently the area became highly admired for its superior quality of carving.