The Lewis chessmen or Uig chessmen, named after the bay where they were found, ]are a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most of which are carved from walrus ivory and a few from whale teeth.
Discovered in 1831 on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, they may constitute some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets, although it is not clear if a set as originally made can be assembled from the pieces. When found, the hoard contained 93 artifacts: 78 chess pieces, 14 tablemen and one belt buckle. Today, 82 pieces are owned and usually exhibited by the British Museum in London, and the remaining 11 are at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Now, there's one more.
Some historians believe that the Lewis chessmen were hidden (or lost) after some mishap occurred during their carriage from Norway to wealthy Norse towns on the east coast of Ireland, such as Dublin. The large number of pieces and their lack of wear may suggest that they were the stock of a trader or dealer.
The chessmen were discovered in early 1831 in a sand bank at the head of Camas Uig on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
A good man to have in the shield wall.
There have been five figure pieces (one knight and four warders, ie, rooks in the modern game) missing to complete the four sets, leaving open the possibility that there could be floaters out there. That possibility has now become fact as for the first time a new Lewis Chessmen Warder has emerged.
It was bought for £5 in 1964 by an Edinburgh antiques dealer from another dealer. He did not realize the treasure he had found.
This warder is being offered for sale at Sotheby’s Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art sale on July 2nd in London. The pre-sale estimate is £600,000-1,000,000. That's a magnificent Viking treasure right there.
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