About thirty years ago a friend who had been on an extended vacation in Europe, brought me back what appeared to be a truly unique set of chessmen. They were epoxy replicas of chess pieces found buried in a sand dune in 1831 on the Scottish isle of Lewis.
My wife and I just spent a couple days in Victoria and one of the things we did was visit their excellent museum where they were showing a number of wonderful artifacts from the British Museum like mummies from 800 BC and the Rosetta Stone, and among other things, the Lewis Chessmen. Before going to the Victoria Museum, I had no idea of the history behind my chessmen.
The Lewis Chessmen
Probably made in Norway, about AD 1150-1200
Found on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
The chess pieces consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks.
They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis in mysterious circumstances. Various stories have evolved to explain why they were concealed there, and how they were discovered. All that is certain is that they were found some time before 11 April 1831, when they were exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries at Scotland. The precise findspot seems to have been a sand dune where they may have been placed in a small, drystone chamber.
Who owned the chess pieces? Why were they hidden? While there are no firm answers to these questions, it is possible that they belonged to a merchant travelling from Norway to Ireland. This seems likely since there are constituent pieces - though with some elements missing - for four distinct sets. Their general condition is excellent and they do not seem to have been used much, if at all.
By the end of the eleventh century, chess was a very popular game among the aristocrac....
British Museum - The Lewis Chessmen
My wife and I just spent a couple days in Victoria and one of the things we did was visit their excellent museum where they were showing a number of wonderful artifacts from the British Museum like mummies from 800 BC and the Rosetta Stone, and among other things, the Lewis Chessmen. Before going to the Victoria Museum, I had no idea of the history behind my chessmen.
The Lewis Chessmen
Probably made in Norway, about AD 1150-1200
Found on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
The chess pieces consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks.
They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis in mysterious circumstances. Various stories have evolved to explain why they were concealed there, and how they were discovered. All that is certain is that they were found some time before 11 April 1831, when they were exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries at Scotland. The precise findspot seems to have been a sand dune where they may have been placed in a small, drystone chamber.
Who owned the chess pieces? Why were they hidden? While there are no firm answers to these questions, it is possible that they belonged to a merchant travelling from Norway to Ireland. This seems likely since there are constituent pieces - though with some elements missing - for four distinct sets. Their general condition is excellent and they do not seem to have been used much, if at all.
By the end of the eleventh century, chess was a very popular game among the aristocrac....
British Museum - The Lewis Chessmen
