page_title: Lewis chessmen
hierarchical_section_title: Lewis chessmen
context_page_description: The Lewis Chessmen, or Uig Chessmen, are 78 12th-century chess pieces, most of which are carved in walrus ivory. The hoard was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. They may be some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets. They are owned and exhibited by the British Museum in London, which has 67 of the original pieces, and the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has the remaining 11 pieces.
  The pieces are figurative, like modern sets, and unlike the abstract Arabic pieces. The set has made the transition to European figures, which lasts to the present day. In particular, the arrival of a female figure is a departure from the Indo-Arabic game, and the figure of a bishop is also significant.
context_section_description: The Lewis Chessmen, or Uig Chessmen, are 78 12th-century chess pieces, most of which are carved in walrus ivory. The hoard was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. They may be some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets. They are owned and exhibited by the British Museum in London, which has 67 of the original pieces, and the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has the remaining 11 pieces.
  The pieces are figurative, like modern sets, and unlike the abstract Arabic pieces. The set has made the transition to European figures, which lasts to the present day. In particular, the arrival of a female figure is a departure from the Indo-Arabic game, and the figure of a bishop is also significant.
caption: Lewis chessmen in the Museum of Scotland
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