The historic Lewis chess pieces have been put into a new display at the National Museum for Scotland to give a unique insight into the figures.
The famous pieces - made from walrus ivory and sperm whale teeth - are among the best-known objects in the museum, which is one of Scotland’s most popular visitor attractions. In the past, they’ve only been viewed from the front but 10 of the medieval gaming pieces have been redisplayed in a new case which allows visitors to view their backs for the first time.
The pieces range from the wide-eyed “Berserker” who gnaws on his shield, to a Queen who rests her chin in her hand with a fed-up look on her face.
The figures became famous for their noticeable facial expressions but it appears the backs of them are as intricately detailed.
The thrones feature complex vine scroll with interlace carvings, while the hair on some figures tumble down their backs in stylised ringlets.
They have now been redisplayed from October 31 with new lighting, a new layout and refreshed interpretation to give them a more prominent position at the entrance to the Kingdom of the Scots gallery and they are visible from the adjacent Hawthornden Court.
Dr Alice Blackwell, Senior Curator of Medieval Archaeology and History at National Museums Scotland said: “The Lewis chess pieces are much loved thanks in part to their iconic expressions and poses, however these are objects which were designed to be appreciated from all angles. After all, each player sees the backs of their own pieces.
“The carver has really gone to town on the throne backs in particular, with entwined tendrils and knotwork that are really sumptuous compared to the simpler fronts. I’m delighted that visitors to the National Museum of Scotland will now have the chance to get to know these charming characters in the round.”
The chess pieces form part of a large hoard discovered in Lewis in the early 1800s and offer insights into the growing popularity of chess in medieval Europe, and the international connections of western Scotland during that period.
The hoard contained 93 gaming pieces in total from at least four chess sets as well as other games. Eleven pieces are in National Museum of Scotland’s collection, with the remaining 82 are in the British Museum’s collection, six of which are on loan to Museum nan Eilean in Lewis.
READ MORE
-
Historic Scottish government records published online for first time
-
Thousands of mugshots of inmates at Barlinnie in Victorian times released
-
This part of Scotland is home to more castles than any other in the British Isles
It’s believed the pieces were made around 1200 in Norway, with Lewis part of the Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of the Isles at the time, encompassing islands and land along the west coast of Scotland as well as the Isle of Man. There was a strong Scandinavian influence in the region and Norway controlled the kingdom.
It remains unknown who buried the pieces or why they did, but they may have been the property of a merchant who sailed from Scandinavia to Scotland, Ireland or the Isle of Man to sell the playing sets.
They could also have been the treasured possession of a local prince, bishop or other leader given Lewis was home to powerful people with close ties to Norway at the time.
In 2012, the Scottish Government called for the 82 pieces which are in the British Museum to be brought to the National Museum of Scotland have the full set reunited in Scotland.
At the time, it said it was 'unacceptable' at only 11 of the chess pieces were in Scotland.
In 2012, a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: "The Scottish government believes it is unacceptable that 11 Lewis Chessmen rest at the National Museum of Scotland while the other 82 remain in the British Museum and will continue to campaign for a reunited set of Lewis Chessmen in Scotland."
In 2010, 24 of the pieces from the London collection and six from Edinburgh embarked on a 16-month tour of Scotland while the then UK Culture Secretary Margaret Hodge said keeping them in London allowed more people to celebrate their history.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here