![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/NMSLewisChessmen29.jpg/640px-NMSLewisChessmen29.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Lewis chessmen
carved chess pieces discovered on the Isle of Lewis / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lewis Chessmen, or Uig Chessmen,[1] are 78 12th-century chess pieces, most of which are carved in walrus ivory. The hoard was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.[2]
![]() Lewis chessmen in the National Museum of Scotland | |
Material | Walrus Ivory and Whales' Teeth |
---|---|
Created | 12th century |
Discovered | Uig, Isle of Lewis, 1831 |
Present location | British Museum National Museum of Scotland |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Chess01.jpg/640px-Chess01.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Lewis-chessmen08.jpg/640px-Lewis-chessmen08.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/NMSLewisChessmen6.jpg/640px-NMSLewisChessmen6.jpg)
They may be some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets.[3] They are owned and exhibited by the British Museum in London, which has 67 of the original pieces, and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has the other 11 pieces.
A newly identified piece, a "warder", the equivalent of a castle or rook, was sold at auction for £735,000 in July 2019. It was also bought by the British Museum. Four other major pieces, and many pawns, are still missing from the chess sets.[4]
The pieces are figurative, like modern sets, and unlike the abstract Arabic pieces. The set has made the transition to European figures, which lasts to the present day. In particular, the arrival of a female figure is a departure from the Indo-Arabic game, and the figure of a bishop is also significant.