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Lewis Chessmen

My wedding anniversary gift from my wonderful wife. It is a full set of hand-crafted replicas of Lewis Chessmen on a wooden board. The originals are the oldest known chess pieces to depict human figures. They were found buried in a hoard on the Isle of Lewis in 1831 and were likely crafted in Trondheim, Norway sometime between 1150 and 1200 AD.
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The full set of chessmen
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The full set of chessmen

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  • The full set of chessmen
  • Untitled photo
  • The full set of chessmen
  • The full set of chessmen
  • The white pieces. The pawns are simple objects that do not depict people.
  • The black pieces. The pawns are simple objects that do not depict people.
  • The kings and Queens are meant to look pensive, the style is very Medieval, and they look strange to most modern people. The broken crown on the black queen is accurate to the original, though most modern reproduction elect to "fix" this detail.
  • The original bishops are the very earliest known example of these pieces being depicted as actual Christian priests. The carving on them is so detailed that the most accurate date we have for the originals comes from dating the style of vestments they are wearing.
  • The Knights are about what we would expect to see today, and depict fairly normal nordic mounted warriors.
  • The Rooks are not at all what most people expect in a chess set. They depict foot soldiers, and one of each pair is a wild-eyed Berserker biting his shield.
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