Ivory chess piece bought for a fiver may fetch a million
‘It’s a little bit bashed up. It has lost its left eye. But that kind of weatherbeaten, weary warrior added to its charm’
IT IS one of the great mysteries of antiquity: the whereabouts of the remaining Lewis Chessmen, missing from a medieval hoard dug up in the 19th century on a remote Hebridean beach.
The answer, in one case at least, has been revealed: tucked away in the drawer of a family home. The figure was purchased from an Edinburgh antiques dealer in 1964 for just £5 and passed down through the generations, all oblivious to the treasure’s significance.
It is now being auctioned with a guide price of between £600,000 and £1 million. Bidders could include the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland, which together hold the 93 pieces known to be in existence. Five were unaccounted for, and the new discovery brings that down to four.
Alexander Kader, head of European sculpture and works of art at Sotheby’s in London, said his “jaw dropped” when the family brought the piece in.
“Our doors are open for free valuations. We get called down to the counter and have no idea what we are going to see. More often than not, it’s not worth very much,” Mr Kader explained.
He was astonished when the family opened a small fabric bag and took out the figure. “I said, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s one of the Lewis Chessmen’.” The owners were “quite amazed”, he added: “We can safely say that a million pounds will transform the seller’s life.”
Mr Kader said the figure, carved from walrus ivory and measuring just under 3.5in (9cm), is “a little bit bashed up and the left eye is missing. But that kind of weather-beaten, weary warrior added to its charm”. It has discoloured but is recognisable as a warrior, the equivalent of a rook, wearing a helmet and carrying a sword and shield.
The seller wishes to remain anonymous, but said in a statement: “My grandfather was an antiques dealer in Edinburgh, and in 1964 he purchased an ivory chessman from another dealer.
“It was catalogued in his purchase ledger that he had bought an ‘Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman’. From this description it can be assumed that he was unaware he had purchased an important historic artefact.
“When my grandfather died my mother inherited the chess piece. She was very fond of the chessman. She thought perhaps it could have had some magical significance.
“For many years it resided in a drawer in her home where it had been wrapped in a small bag. From time to time she would remove the chess piece from the drawer in order to appreciate its uniqueness.”
The hoard was discovered on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in 1831. Dating back to 1150-1200, they were probably made by craftsmen in Norway and may have been buried by a merchant keen to avoid taxes. Together they made four chess sets.
They were exhibited by the Scottish Society of Antiquaries in 1831 then broken up and sold. The British Museum holds 82 pieces and the National Museum of Scotland has 11.