Traditional Lewis Chessmen - Isle of Lewis Chess set in Old Antique Bronze & Pewter Metallic Effect (V1) (Chess pieces only) deals

Beautiful handmade chess sets, chess boards and chess pieces crafted for you here in Ireland.
For my full range of beautiful custom made Chess sets please visit my shop found here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MourneStudios

For sale is a beautiful custom made ornate hand crafted, heritage collection of 12th Century designed Lewis Chessmen. The original Lewis chessmen were made in the 12th century by Norwegian craftsmen and hidden by Nordic traders on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland where they lay undetected until 1831 when they were discovered by a local farmer.

The chess pieces are lovingly decorated to create a soft warm metallic aged effect in keeping with the character of the old chess set, and which represents many hours of dedicated work.

Version One and Two of the Lewis Chessmen have different Royals and pawns from each other. These chess pieces were originally designed from photographs and drawings taken from the original chess pieces housed in the British Museum in London (other pieces are housed in the museum of Scotland) and then beautifully hand carved and sculpted capturing the qualities of the Nordic originals.

Never has a Chess set courted so much controversy and intrigue. As the story goes, "At some point during the 12th Century a Nordic ship was sheltering from a storm in a sheltered bay off the Isle of Lewis. Onboard the ship an imprisoned cabin boy seizes his chance to escape, sneaks into the Captain's cabin and steals a bag containing at least 128 carved walrus pieces and swims ashore but is spotted by a robber, who murders him and steals the Lewis chessmen. The murderer disposes of the body in a grave, buries the walrus tusk chess pieces in a secret location (still unknown) and leaves planning to return at a later date to collect his loot. He travels to the port of Stornoway, and while there is arrested and sentenced to death. Whilst awaiting execution for the as yet unknown crime he confesses to killing the cabin boy and burying him on the island.
Fast forward around 600 years to 1831 when one day a herdsman's cow pops its head into a nearby sandbank and pulls out 92 of the Lewis chess pieces. The herdsman then sells the find to a Captain Pyrie, who travels to Edinburgh and sells it to a Mr Forrest who in turn sells 82 of the pieces to the British Museum; the remaining eleven Lewis Chessmen, he sells to a certain Mr Sharpe, who then sells them to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
There are so many legends, myths and mysteries to the iconic chessmen that having them in your hand is something very special indeed.


The tallest piece (The Lewis King) is 9 cm's tall with a 4.5 cm base making this a very substantial collection of chessmen.

The pieces are made from reconstructed stone and come with felt bases attached as standard.

As well as enjoying the aesthetic quality of playing chess with such a beautiful chess set, the act of playing chess itself has been linked to a variety of health benefits and is said to help develop perspective, improve memory, increase intelligence, deepen focus, elevate creativity, boost planning skills, increase self-awareness, protect against dementia, help ADHD and reduce panic attack symptoms.

With so many positives to playing chess it is hardly surprising that so many more people are making playing chess a part of their daily lives, so why not take the plunge and do it in style with a beautiful handmade chess set from MourneStudios.

This chess set is beautifully rendered and is a great addition to any chess collection.

Treat your Chess Set with tender loving care for a lifetimes worth of enjoyment.
Pieces can chip or break if dropped or treated roughly.

This listing is for the chess pieces only. The boards are not part of this listing and are for display purposes only; however please keep an eye on our shop as we do intend to sell some of our collection of boards in the coming months.

The pieces will be individually wrapped and carefully packaged to ensure safe arrival deals at their new home.

Thanks for looking and please check out our other chess sets. If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a message and I'll get back to you asap. We're more than happy to answer any questions about any of our products.

Thanks
Adam (Shop Owner)

*At Mournestudios all boards and pieces are bespoke and are custom made and personalised just for you, and as such will carry the name of the customer that they have been made for and the date of completion on the base of a number of pieces (usually each king, just beneath the felt), and for the boards simply under the felt.
If a different name is required as if often the case with gifts etc. please leave a message to this effect at checkout.

I am happy to offer custom colours on all of my work, so if you see a chess set or board in my shop that you like the colours of and would like those on your new set as opposed to the colours advertised, then simply leave me a message at check out and I will get back to confirm your choices.

If you have a colour that I don't currently stock, I'm also happy to see if I can find it for you.

All of the Chess pieces here at Mournestudios are are intended for collectors of 14 years of age and above and are not considered as toys within the EU Toy safety Directive (as referred to in Article 2(1))..


Thanks for looking! Adam