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Isle of Lewis Chessmen
Isle of Lewis Chessmen
 
List Price: $169.00
Our Price: $159.00
Sale Price: $94.95
You save $74.05!


Product Code: 1028

Description
 
In 1831 the sea carried away a sandbank on the Isle of Lewis uncovering a mysterious building buried under the sand. A peasant working nearby found what he concluded to be a collection of Elves and Gnomes. The superstitious highlander flung down his spade and fled home in horror. Superstition in Lewis had survived in a powerful form. Thus, when the peasant first looked at the group of singular little ivory figures it was natural that they should appear as the pygmy sprites of Celtic folklore. However, he was induced by his wife to return to the spot and take the figures home. He sold them to a local collector who realized they were chessmen. There were 78 pieces in all belonging to eight or more sets; 67 are now in the British Museum and the rest in the National Museum, Edinburgh. Experts are unanimous in regarding them as the most astonishing collection of ancient chessmen in existence.
Features
  • House of Staunton - "Why settle for less, when you can own a legend?"
  • 3.75" King Cast Stone Resin

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