About The Set

This is for a brand new Isle of Lewis chess set based upon the originals which date back to medieval times.

The Lewis Chessmen, of which there were 96 pieces, were discovered in 1831, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland by a local shepherd. The chessmen discovered within the chamber are probably the most famous in gaming history and are the oldest complete set of chessmen ever found. Made from walrus tusk, the Lewis Chessmen are believed to be of Icelandic origin and to date back to the twelfth century.

This particular set differs from the majority of Isle of Lewis sets available to purchase in that the pieces are cast from some of the more distinctive and striking originals of the collection at the British Museum.

It is also a fair bit chunkier and more tactile to handle that the standard Lewis sets.

Additionally, I have done my best to match the colours to those used by the original Icelandic artists with the mellow ivory to match the walrus tusk and inspection of the originals also shows that some had a rich port like red colour.

Construction

Each set is hand cast in a hard and durable natural mineral giving a lovely carved stone like feel, painted, stained and lacquered to give a durable high quality result yet still retaining a certain ceramic and antique finish.

The king is 3.5 inches in height and the set, unpacked, weighs approx. 1.8 KG and would suit a board, not provided, with squares 2 inches or more.

Unlike any other set available here, this set for comes with two extra queens for those of you who are lucky enough to get a pawn all the way down to the other end of the board and don't want to scrabble around looking for something to use as an extra queen.

Colours Available

Unless you specify otherwise the colours for these pieces are Antique Red for the dark and Mellow Ivory for the light.