1/2 The Lewis Chessmen - Masterpieces of the British Museum

Episode 3/6 Amongst the most appealing objects in the British Museum is a 12th century chess set.

[@littbitterst2328]

...."I believe, in the darkness, after hours they have conversations w eachother ".....me too!!!!

[@Liquid_Alchemy]

My biggest regret during my first visit to the National Museum of Scotland was spending all of my time in fascination over the miniature coffins exhibit and trying to unfold their origin and mystery. When I return to Edinburgh in a few months my first plan of action will be to grab a gin & tonic at Devil's Advocate, then heading immediately to the National Museum of Scotland to spend the remainder of my day glaring in wonder at the Lewis Chessmen display.

[@thehairywoodcarver]

I am in the process of hand carving this set in Cherry Wood and Sycamore and every piece will be different! Loving the challenge, the original craftsmen were genius and to think this was 800 years ago!!

[@theshadow3001]

Good luck

[@BeastReview]

If I supply you with Ivory from Mammoth Tusk could you do it? I’ll need you to send me $100k through an ACH transaction first ;)

[@michaellilly405]

Excellent video with detailed images of the chessmen and information about their origin.

[@martyheresniak5203]

Oh, is that what this is? Thanks. I wouldn't have known unless you mentioned it.

[@stopreadingmyusernamebroth9090]

Thank you for this video. I'm a college student and I am writing a paper on this and this documentary offers some very important insight that you do not come across google.

[@shyamparsad-ug7vh]

Which university and which degree?? And is your paper finished and published where can we read it (if not than ignore second part)

[@Bagula596]

This is such an amazing and captivating upload! LIKED. Thank you very much for sharing!

[@juratek9898]

well done. 78 pieces found in Scotland and only 11 are left in Scottish Nat. Museum. The rest are in London. WHY?! why not opposite?!

[@SuperSnugglemonster]

Because at one time they were for sale and British Museum had the money and inclination to buy them.

[@scorpioninpink]

@@cmmartti The Sarcophagus is being asked by the Egyptian to be returned btw.

[@Peter-lm3ic]

Who’s going to see them up in remote Scotland?

[@hectorbrown656]

Peter 99 i would

[@morten1975dk]

Found in Scotland yes. But not made in Scotland. And they were not stolen from Scotland.

[@mortalclown3812]

Love that he imagines conversations between the chess pieces at night. Sounds like he ended up in the right job.

[@craigkelly4278]

Either that or he has watched Night at the Museum too much. Lol 😆 🤣

[@antisocialatheist1978]

I imagine how much time and skill it must have taken to create those pieces. It is hard to create such things in the 21st century with the tools and equipment we have now. But imagine creating them by hard carving alone.

[@godzilloid]

You can still see file marks on some of them.

[@Hypatia4242]

This may sound silly, but if you were playing a game, how would you know whose piece it was? The colors are identical. The pawns in particular seem indistinguishable. Were they painted?

[@TheGorgorothSpire]

Yes. Half were painted red supposedly. They have excellent sets which are crafted and recreated after them. Beautiful!

[@SuperSnugglemonster]

When they were discovered, some were painted red. That red has since disappeared and no longer exists even in the cracks in the ivory.

[@jewellui]

Also they are believed to come from five chess sets rather than one.

[@Lurvehandles]

Stained dark red rather than painted but all trace of colouring have now faded and gone.

[@Monkeybomb950]

I have a set of the Lewis Chessmen.

[@spuddy77]

8'm getting some delivered this weekend or the next, I'm extremely excited

[@maaan8494]

Why liein

[@dougg1075]

I wonder if the person who made them , buried them for safe keeping.

[@golgumbazguide...4113]

Explore Golgumbaz, Bijapur,

[@kiratheusagiisworkshop5266]

Dang, we Scandinavians seems to have been importing a lots of things over to Britain in the "Old ages." xD

[@edgoodwin4389]

It’s still a theory. There are new studies that conclude an Icelandic woman was commissioned to carve these as a gift to the Norwegian, Danish, and British royalties.

[@magik8566]

chessboard is set up wrong, bottom right square should be white.... at 2:06 :(

[@BlairMaynard]

How did they use walrus tusk when it has that nerve cavity down the middle?

[@thomasr3805]

Blair Maynard you can see the cavity a little before halfway. There is a massive hole running through the center

[@hectorbrown656]

I just cant believe that Scotland could not buy this special chess set , and for those of you who have written that at least we can see it in the British museum , I disagree how many people from Lewis have ever seen it , or indeed anyone from Norway or the rest of Scotland ?

[@artemisjuno]

It is in the British Museum which is the National Museum for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. There it can be admired by millions of visitors from every corner of the globe. I have never seen it like many others but glad to know it is in our capital city.

[@hsmd4533]

What about the walrus descendants? Don’t they deserve reparations? We should have a floating shack in the arctic circle to be fair to the walruses. That’s the only right thing to do.

[@2ndavenuesw481]

The Hebrides were more populous in those days. I'm sure whoever owned those chess pieces would laugh at these people if he could watch this.

[@LOCKEYJ]

They’re dead mate

[@1981Marcus]

@@LOCKEYJHence "if".

[@KougajiCalling]

One of them looks like he has a toothache. Plus they stare into your soul.

[@KougajiCalling]

You're no fun at all, are you?

[@jadeclothier8587]

Those eyes are so piercing

[@beaulieuonnp593]

@@KougajiCalling some people don't have any sense of humour these days. SIgn of the times.

[@rapidrabbit7175]

Music way too loud covering speech.

[@Mr.Ut21]

I have never understood why academics think that creating something lovely takes a master craftsman a year and a day.... Three days for one peice? Negative, jack.

[@SirGrizzzlY]

Jmd von kaddi da? 😅

[@elcid451]

Speculation as to the origin of chess.

[@GSthe3rd]

India 🇮🇳

[@peterlewis3540]

They were found buried in a secret location on a beach, on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides. Placed there, by their owner, intent on returning to collect them in the future, but he never returned. The Chessmen do not belong to the British Museum, they should be returned to Scotland, where they belong

[@hsmd4533]

They belong to the descendants of the walruses and should be thrown into the sea near the arctic circle.

[@pokemonho8982]

those arent chess pieces those are real sculptures probably depicting real people they were buried becsuse thats probably their grave

[@TheFiown]

I still do not understand that these incredible historic pieces FOUND in Scotland and not in a Scottish Museum, why in England ? do they not have enough ?

[@SuperSnugglemonster]

At the time that they were for sale, Scotland could have bought them but The British Museum did.

[@KougajiCalling]

Not all of them are in the British Museum. Some of them are in Edinburgh...

[@scorpioninpink]

Of course it does. If the artifacts from Greece, Egypt, Nigeria, China, Aztec and India are in the British Museum, then of course they are going to rob this also from Scotland.

[@jewellui]

Both the British Museum and the Scottish Museum have them on display. The British museum bought a larger part of the collection.

[@MrRooibos123]

@@scorpioninpink it's not robbery if you trade goods for it. You can't just go back on a deal a few hundred years later because you've used all the valuable materials we gave you.

[@Kokudou_Risa]

What if we steal it and put it in an Egyptian Museum??? Oh the British can't have them back because we stole it already, so no

[@vibrusi]

Not a, but a monument to pillaging and looting.

[@craigkelly4278]

It's shows humans are not animals. That they can create wonderful things. This set elevates humanity to a whole other level.

[@hsmd4533]

You are a monument to victimhood, self pity and whining.

[@vibrusi]

@@hsmd4533 😇

[@atmakali9599]

Making a lot out of not that much. Or is it just the narration hyperbole 🤔

[@HeavensGremlin]

How sad that the British Museum - of all institutions - can''t even spell 'Mediaeval'....

[@Infinitegrowth-zt1mh]

Fake

[@scorpioninpink]

It makes sense that it was made in Norway. The English doesn't really produce anything.

[@maaan8494]

*produces something*

[@MrRooibos123]

Hmm let me think. At that time period, England was one of the largest producers of fine cloth. That's a fact.

[@YorkyOne]

'Do not' or 'don't'.

[@sircurtisseretse1331]

The snobbery is unbelievable. If they are not Scandinavian, they must be English. The possibility that they are Irish or Scottish doesn't get a mention.

[@spuddy77]

Seriously? You can get offended by something as little as that?

[@Palifiox]

Your prejudices are obvious, "Seretse". You snarl at the English even though they have admitted years ago, before you heard of these chess pieces that they were made in Norway. I understood that the Matswana had better manners. Or perhaps you know nothing of the Matswana either.

[@rongpirson5250]

it does at 6:00

[@sarahcantet8306]

Sir Curtis Seretse i

[@MorrisonScotch]

Fact is they are unique from the lands of my blood line. Both Scottish and Viking.