You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
A great hoard of 12th-century chesspieces was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, in circumstances which have never been fully explained. Carved from walrus tusks, the Lewis chessmen have been described as the greatest chessmen of the European Middle Ages.
The ivory carvings discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis form the largest and finest group of chessmen to have survived. All the pieces are carved in morse ivory, that is, the tusks of the walrus, and are brilliant examples of 12th century design.
The Lewis chessmen were found hidden on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, in the early nineteenth century. Probably made in Norway around AD 1150-1200, they consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns. This book takes a look at the many theories surrounding the ownership of the pieces, why they were hidden and how exactly they were discovered, and places them in the wider context of the ancient game of chess and secular culture of the Middle Ages.
12-year-old Kylan is a Viking slave; when he gets the chance to return to the Hebrides, the Lewis Chessmen he helped carve become his only hope of escape and survival.
This book was written to accompany a travelling exhibition about new research on the Lewis chessmen. National Museums Scotland and the British Museum partnered in creating the exhibition, The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked.
None
“A fascinating tale of discovery and mystery.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. The Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? Nancy Marie Brown's Ivory Vikings explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games. In the process, Ivory Vikings presents a vivid history of the 400 years when the Vikings ruled the North Atlantic, and the sea-road connected countries and islands we think of as far apart and culturally distinct: Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland and North America. The story of the Lewis chessmen brings from the shadows an extraordinarily talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland.
The Lewis chessmen were found on the Isle of Lewis in mysterious circumstances. Consisting of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales teeth in the form of seated kings and queens, bishops, knights, warders and pawns, this curious chess set is strongly influenced by Norse culture. Of the 93 pieces known to us today, 11 pieces are in Edinburgh at the National Museum of Scotland, and 82 are in the British Museum, where they have delighted generations of visitors with their wonderfully expressive details. In this engaging story, Irving Finkel follows the many adventures of the chessmen after they came to light on a Scottish beach in the 19th century.
None
Published in association with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.