This berserker, biting his shield in his battle fury, is one of the 67 Lewis chess pieces in the collection of the British Museum, part of a remarkable hoard of carved walrus ivory. They were probably made in Norway, about AD 1150-1200 and were found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis, ...
Captain Ryrie exhibited The Isle of Lewis chess pieces for a short time before splitting them up and selling 10 to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe and the rest to the British Museum in London, where they remain on display to this day. The 10 others filtered through multiple owners and eventually m...
TheIsle of Lewis chess sets, popularly known as theLewis Chessmen, are a testament to rich history dating back to the 12th century. Discovered on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in 1831, these fantastic chess pieces drew global attention with their artistic excellence and ...
Note: When you are done reading this article, check out our Viking chess (Hnefatafl) sets and Isle of Lewis chess sets for sale here. History of Hnefatafl (Tafl) ...and the Isle of Lewis Chess Set. Vikings loved to play games of strategy like dice game
The Lewis Chessmen are the most important chess pieces in history. Ever since the ivory figures were discovered sometime before 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, these kings, queens, knights, rooks, bishops, and pawns carved from walrus tusk and sperm whale teeth have...
The Lewis chess pieces They give us fascinating insights intothe international connectionsof western Scotland and the growing popularity of chess in medieval Europe. The eleven chess pieces on display in the Museum of Scotland were part of a large hoard buried on Lewis. ...
To preserve the hoard as intactly as possible in a public collection, the majority of the pieces were acquired by the British Museum where they are on permanent display. National Museums Scotland holds 11 pieces, again on permanent display. An exhibition of 30 pieces will tour Scotland from ...
This trade route brought riches to and from the kingdom. Exquisitely carved rare chess pieces, silver coins with images of kings and precious symbols of religious power have all been left behind. The Lewis Chessmen were discovered on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis and were made around ...
This famous medieval chess piece missing for nearly 200 years was recently sold at auction for over $800,000.