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 aristocracy throughout Europe. The Lewis chess
pieces form the largest single surviving group of objects from the
period that were made purely for recreational purposes.
A board large enough to hold all the pieces arranged for a game
played to modern rules would have measured 82 cm across. Records
state that when found, some of the Lewis chessmen were stained red.
Consequently the chessboard may have been red and white, as opposed
to the modern convention of black and white.
Of the 93 pieces known to us today, 11 pieces are in
Edinburgh at the National Museum of Scotland, and 82 are in the
British Museum.
From the collection of the British Museum
J. Robinson, The Lewis Chessmen (London, British Museum Press, 2004)
N. Stratford, The Lewis chessmen and the eni (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)