Lewis chessmen

<p>The Lewis chessmen  or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the <a href="/facts/Uig,_Lewis/33nJJsjf">bay</a> where they were found, are a group of distinctive 12th-century <a href="/facts/Chess/47ykvkHF">chess</a> pieces, along with other game pieces, most of which are carved from <a href="/facts/Walrus_ivory/RqzvIJt2">walrus ivory</a>. Discovered in 1831 on the <a href="/facts/Isle_of_Lewis/U8SrIutv">Isle of Lewis</a> in the <a href="/facts/Outer_Hebrides/UtWr1Mmp">Outer Hebrides</a> of <a href="/facts/Scotland/VGwbbxB2">Scotland</a>, they may constitute some of the few complete, surviving <a href="/facts/Medieval/RqzEKB9v">medieval</a> <a href="/facts/Chess_set/FCYT7YoS">chess sets</a>, although it is not clear if a single complete period-accurate set can be assembled from the pieces. When found, the hoard contained 94 objects: 78 chess pieces, 14 <a href="/facts/Tables_(board_game)/4dRoj5Wg">tablemen</a> (pieces for backgammon or similar games) and one belt buckle. Today, 82 pieces are owned and usually exhibited by the <a href="/facts/British_Museum/mq5LadWV">British Museum</a> in <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a>, and the remaining 11 are at the <a href="/facts/National_Museum_of_Scotland/mg59mqPD">National Museum of Scotland</a> in <a href="/facts/Edinburgh/PcsoaK9h">Edinburgh</a>; at least one chess piece is owned privately.
</p><p>The newly identified piece, a "warder", the equivalent of a rook, was sold for £735,000 in July 2019. Four other major pieces, and many pawns, remain missing from the chess sets.   
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Lewis chessmen open-in-new

Lewis chessmen