Author(s): James Robinson

Fine Art

The Lewis chessmen were found under mysterious circumstances on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, in 1831. Probably made in Norway around AD 1150-1200, these enchanting 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. This lively book considers the various fascinating stories which have evolved to explain the ownership, concealment and discovery of the pieces whilst also placing them in the wider context of the ancient game of chess and secular art of the Middle Ages.