Lewis chessmen
One of the Lewis chessmen sold at Sotheby's in July 2019 for £735,000. The buyer's identity was never disclosed. The piece, listed in the auction catalog as an Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman, had gone unrecognised for at least 55 years. It emerged in Edinburgh in the months before a June 2019 public announcement. Its reappearance was a reminder that the hoard first found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis has never been fully accounted for. That hoard held 94 objects in all. Four major chess pieces and many pawns remain missing to this day. Where the chessmen were made and who buried them on that Scottish island remain open questions. Why they were never retrieved has occupied scholars for nearly two centuries. The answer to the first question points somewhere far from the Hebrides.
Most scholars place the manufacture of the Lewis chessmen in Trondheim, Norway, somewhere between 1150 and 1200 AD. Iceland and the Hebrides have been proposed as alternative origins, but the Norwegian connection is the most widely accepted explanation. The chessmen were most likely carried to Lewis as part of a merchant's cargo when they were lost or buried. Almost all the pieces are carved from walrus ivory. A small number were cut from whale teeth instead. Researchers Caldwell, Hall, and Wilkinson examined the pieces' facial features and organized them into five distinct groups. They proposed that each group was the work of a separate craftsman. Nine pieces could not be placed in any of the five groups. Two of those nine, a king and a warder, may have come from a different workshop entirely, perhaps made to replace damaged or missing pieces. The 79 playing pieces fall into six ranks, each carved to make its role on the board immediately identifiable.
Eight kings, eight queens, sixteen bishops, fifteen knights, thirteen warders, and nineteen pawns make up the Lewis playing pieces. The kings are seated on thrones, wearing crowns and holding swords. Queens also sit on thrones and wear crowns, with each holding her right hand to her face. Seven bishops are seated while nine stand; each carries a crozier, and some also hold books. The knights ride horses that appear notably small for their riders, each carrying a spear and a shield. The warders, standing soldiers holding shields and swords, fill the rook position. Four of the thirteen warders bite their shields in an expression of battle fury. This pose is not shared by any other piece in the collection. The pawns stand between 3.5 and 5.8 centimetres tall, while the other pieces range from 7 to 10.2 centimetres. A standard set requires sixteen pawns, but the hoard contained nineteen, in a wide range of sizes. This has led scholars to suggest the pieces may come from at least five separate chess sets. Caldwell and colleagues have noted that the makers may never have aimed for the strict uniformity modern audiences expect from commercially produced sets. The pawns themselves are not figurative sculptures. They are small geometric shapes, cylinders and forms that have been compared to boundary markers and tombstones. No surviving medieval chess set combines abstract pawns with figurative pieces in this way. Some scholars have therefore proposed that the Lewis pawns may not have belonged to the same sets as the other figures. The hoard also included fourteen tablemen, used for games such as backgammon. Those tablemen are largely undecorated, unlike similar pieces from the period, which typically carry detailed relief carving. They may have been left unfinished. A single belt buckle completed the objects recovered. The faces on these carved figures carry expressions that meant something quite different to their twelfth-century makers than they convey to modern eyes.
The four shield-biting warders belong to the berserker tradition of Norse warfare. These pieces have been described as irresistibly comic to a modern audience. It is widely believed, however, that the twelfth-century makers did not intend comedy. For the soldiers, the aim was most likely to convey strength and ferocity. For the queens, one analysis suggests the makers intended 'contemplation, repose, and possibly wisdom'. More broadly, all the figurative pieces share bulging eyes and glum expressions. Researchers have described this as giving them a distinctly comic character to the modern eye, while stressing that the makers would not have seen it that way. The piece Madden numbered as warder 4 has drawn particular attention for its worried, sideways glance. A recent scholarly article examined how the king pieces project a racial representation tied to the presumed origins of the sets. The beard, hairstyle, and facial features on each king would not have stood out in twelfth-century Norway. Some of the pieces bore traces of red staining when they first came to light; that coloring has since vanished. An analysis of pieces in the National Museums Scotland collection found mercury on the surfaces. Researchers attributed this to the use of cinnabar, a red pigment. This evidence suggests that red and white, rather than black and white, may once have distinguished the two sides of each game. No surface wear is visible on any of the pieces. Since walrus ivory is exceptionally hard, this does not prove the sets were never played with. How the chessmen passed from their discovery site on Lewis to the dealers who first sold them is only partly known.
On the 11th of April 1831, Roderick Ririe of Stornoway presented the Lewis chessmen at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He sold ten pieces to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, a Scottish collector. Sharpe later acquired another bishop, probably also from Ririe. The remainder went to a man named T. A. Forrest, from whom the British Museum acquired them. The museum purchase was instigated by F. Madden, the Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts, who was both a paleographer and a chess enthusiast. The museum paid 80 guineas for 82 pieces. Madden began a research paper on the collection almost immediately; it has remained informative to scholars ever since. After Sharpe's death, his pieces were sold to Baron Londesborough. In 1888, they passed through Christie's to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, for the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. When the pieces were first catalogued, 1 knight and 4 warders were already missing. The identity of the original discoverer was not noted at the time of the find. The discovery had been credited only to an unnamed local peasant. When a name was first recorded, in 1863, it was given as Malcolm MacLeod from the nearby township of Pennydonald. The exact find site remains disputed. Most accounts name Uig Bay on the west coast of Lewis as the find site. Researchers Caldwell, Hall, and Wilkinson of National Museums Scotland have argued that Mealista is more probable. Mealista lies about six miles further south in the same parish of Uig. The chessmen were ranked number 5 on a list of British archaeological finds chosen for a 2003 BBC documentary. They featured in the 2010 Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects. An exhibition called Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked opened at the National Museum of Scotland on the 21st of May 2010. It traveled to Aberdeen, Shetland, and the Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway, where it opened on the 15th of April 2011. An exhibition at The Cloisters in New York City, titled The Game of Kings, included 34 of the British Museum's pieces. It ran through the 22nd of April 2012. That broad international profile had raised the stakes of a political argument about the pieces that had been building for years.
In late 2007, Scottish National Party politicians began calling publicly for the Lewis chessmen to be returned to the Western Isles. Councillor Annie Macdonald, Alasdair Allan MSP, and Angus MacNeil MP were among those who led that call. Scotland's Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Linda Fabiani, called the arrangement unacceptable. She stated that only eleven Lewis chessmen rested at the National Museum of Scotland while sixty-seven remained at the British Museum in London. Richard Oram, Professor of Medieval and Environmental History at the University of Stirling, supported the case for return. He argued that London needed no more than 'a sample' of the collection. Margaret Hodge, then UK Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport, was dismissive. She wrote of the calls: 'It's a lot of nonsense, isn't it?' Hodge noted that the law protected the museum's purchase and drew comparisons to major artworks held in European capitals. Neil MacGregor, then director of the British Museum, was reported to say that Norway, not Scotland, had grounds to request the pieces back. The local historical society near the find site, Comann Eachdraidh Ùig, has published that it cannot claim ownership of the pieces. It has said the normal museum market should determine whether more originals come to Edinburgh, and that it welcomes short-term loans. In October 2009, twenty-four pieces from London and six from Edinburgh began a sixteen-month tour of Scotland. The tour was partly funded by the Scottish Government. Scotland's Minister for Culture and External Affairs, Mike Russell, said the two sides had agreed to disagree on the pieces' eventual fate. Bonnie Greer, the British Museum's deputy chairman, said she absolutely believed the main collection should remain in London. In 2015, six of the British Museum's pieces were placed on long-term loan to the Museum nan Eilean on Lewis. That museum stands on the grounds of Lews Castle, which received £1.8 million from the European Regional Development Fund on the 3rd of April 2013 for its conversion into a museum for the Western Isles. The total budget for restoring and converting the property ran to around £14 million; it had been shuttered for nearly 25 years. In 2023, the warder sold at Sotheby's in 2019 appeared at the Neue Galerie New York as part of a special exhibition. Six of the British Museum's chessmen arrived in Trondheim in May 2025 for an exhibition called Sea Ivories. The show ran at the NTNU University Museum through January 2026. That display returned the pieces, at least temporarily, to the city where the great majority of scholars believe they were first carved.
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Common questions
Who made the Lewis chessmen and where were they carved?
The Lewis chessmen were most likely carved in Trondheim, Norway, between 1150 and 1200 AD. Researchers have identified five distinct craftsman groups among the pieces based on their facial features. Iceland and the Hebrides have been proposed as alternative origins, though the Norwegian connection remains the most widely accepted explanation.
Where were the Lewis chessmen originally discovered?
The Lewis chessmen were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Most accounts identify Uig Bay on the west coast of Lewis as the find site, but researchers from National Museums Scotland have argued that Mealista, about six miles further south in the same parish, is more probable. The discoverer's name was not recorded until 1863, when it was given as Malcolm MacLeod from the township of Pennydonald.
What are the Lewis chessmen made of?
Almost all of the Lewis chessmen are carved from walrus ivory, with a small number made from whale teeth. The hoard held 94 objects in total, including 78 chess pieces, 14 tablemen, and a belt buckle.
How many Lewis chessmen are there and where are they kept today?
Of the original 94 objects in the hoard, 82 chess pieces are held by the British Museum in London and 11 are at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh; at least one piece is in private ownership. Four major pieces and many pawns remain missing.
How much did a Lewis chessman sell for at Sotheby's in 2019?
A Lewis chessman known as a warder sold at Sotheby's in July 2019 for £735,000. The piece had gone unrecognised for at least 55 years before emerging in Edinburgh, where it had been catalogued as an Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman. The buyer remained anonymous.
Why are the Lewis chessmen split between London and Edinburgh?
The Lewis chessmen were dispersed through a series of private sales after their 1831 discovery. F. Madden of the British Museum instigated the purchase of 82 pieces for 80 guineas. A smaller group acquired by collector Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe later passed through Christie's to the National Museum of Scotland in 1888, where those 11 pieces remain today.
All sources
31 references cited across the entry
- 2NewsThe enigma of the Lewis chessmen9 November 2010
- 4NewsReopening history of storied Norse chessmenDylan Loeb McClain — 9 September 2010
- 5JournalChess and Race in the Global Middle AgesKrisztina Ilko — 2024
- 6NewsLong-lost Lewis chessman found in Edinburgh family's drawer3 June 2019
- 7Press releaseThe Lewis ChessmenThe British Museum
- 8Our Top Ten Treasures2003
- 10NewsLewis Chessmen: British Museum Thanked for LoanBBC — 4 March 2013
- 11Official Opening of The Forgotten Kingdom?Manx National Heritage — 27 November 2012
- 12NewsMedieval foes with whimseyKen Johnson — 18 November 2011
- 13Press releaseNew funding announced for Lews Castle museumGovernment of Scotland — April 2013
- 14Ronald S. Lauder collectionNeue Galerie New York
- 15Sea IvoriesVisit Norway
- 16NewsMoves to unite historic chessmen24 December 2007
- 17NewsStalemateAllan Burnett — 3 February 2008
- 18Uig NewsFebruary 2008
- 19NewsChessmen will never come homeTim Cornwell — 2 October 2009
- 20BookLove of Country: A Hebridean journeyMadeleine Bunting — Granta — 2016
- 21BookIvory Vikings: The mystery of the most famous chessmen in the world and the woman who made themNancy Marie Brown — St. Martin's Press — 2016
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- 23BookThe Lewis Chessmen UnmaskedDavid H. Caldwell et al. — National Museums Scotland — 2011
- 24JournalVII Historical remarks on the introduction of the game of chess into Europe, and on the ancient chess-men discovered in the Isle of LewisF. Madden — Society of Antiquaries of London — 1832
- 25BookA History of ChessH.J.R. Murray — Oxford University Press — 1985
- 26BookThe Lewis ChessmenJames Robinson — British Museum Press — 2004
- 27JournalBoard games of the Vikings – From hnefatafl to chessMichael Schulte — 2017
- 29BookThe Lewis Chessmen and the Enigma of the HoardN. Stratford — The British Museum Press — 1997
- 30BookThe Lewis ChessmenMichael Taylor — British Museum Publications Limited — 1978