The 12th century Lewis Chessmen, the Bishop Piece
The chessmen were probably made in Norway, perhaps by craftsmen in Trondheim (where similar pieces have been found), sometime during the 12th century, although scholars have suggested other sources in the Scandinavian world. During that period the Outer Hebrides, along with other major groups of Scottish islands, were ruled by Norway. Some historians believe that the Lewis chessmen were hidden (or lost) after some mishap occurred during their transportation from Norway to wealthy Norse settlements on the east coast of Ireland. The large number of pieces and their lack of signs of wear may suggest they were the stock of a trader or dealer in such pieces. Along with the chess pieces, there were found 14 plain round tablemen for the game of tables and one belt buckle, all made of ivory, making a total of 93 artifacts. Almost all of the pieces in the collection are carved from walrus ivory, with a few made instead from whale teeth. The 78 pieces consist of 8 kings, 8 queens, 16 bishops, 15 knights, 12 rooks, and 19 pawns. Although there are 19 pawns (a complete set requires 16), they have the greatest range of sizes of all the pieces, which has suggested that the 78 pieces might belong to at least 5 different sets. All the pieces are sculptures of human figures, except the pawns which are smaller, geometric shapes. The knights are shown holding spears and shields, mounted on rather diminutive horses. The rooks depict standing soldiers or warders holding a shield and sword, four of which are shown as wild-eyed berserkers biting their shields with battle fury. Some pieces bore traces of red stain when found, indicating that red and white were used to distinguish the two sides, rather than the black and white used in modern chess.
Size: 3756px × 5582px
Location: The Scottish National Museum Chambers Street Edinburgh EH1 1JF
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 12th, 67, 78, 1831, archaeological, art, bank, bay, bishop, british, carved, century, chess, chessmen, clear, comic, complete, constitute, controversy, craft, craftsman, discovered, display, displayed, early, edinburgh, exhibited, expressions, facial, figures, finds, full, game, group, head, hebrides, interest, isle, ivory, lewis, list, london, main, medieval, musem, museum, no5, norse, norway, norwegion, originally, outer, owned, pieces, pieces., place, play, rest., royal, sad, sand, scotland., scottish, set, sets, shaped, showing, skill, survived, teeth, today, trondheim, tusks, uig, varied, walrus, whale
