See all Lewis Chessmen Sets.
Jaques Lewis Chess Set
In 1831, on the Isle of Lewis in the in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, a local shepherd found a small chamber of dry-built stone about 15 feet below the top of a sandbank that had been partially washed away by the sea. The chessmen discovered within the chamber are probably the most famous in gaming history being the oldest complete set of chessmen ever found. Made from walrus tusk, the most recent evidence suggests they are of Norwegian origin and date back to the twelfth century.
The Lewis pieces are on display in the British Museum and in the Museum of Edinburgh. Visiting either museum is a worthy experience but with these replicas, you can own a little piece of history yourself.
Made in England by Jaques, the eminent chess manufacturer, these pieces are a faithful replica of the original in ground marble resin. We believe that this replica is the most accurate one available. The Kings are about 90mm high with base 44mm wide x 34mm deep (3.5 x 1.75 x 1.25 inch).
Board not included. Note: the white pieces are more of an ivory colour
and not the bright white in the lower picture.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
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UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
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ETA in workg. days |
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Jaques Replica Lewis chessmen (without board) |
£74.99 | £89.99 | Eng/Wales: 2 wk.days |
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Chess Boards
To decide which board will best accompany your chess pieces, please see our rough guide to chess piece sizes.
Jaques themselves produce two styles of chequerboard - their standard inlaid chessboard and their premium Chequerboard - the Staunton chessboard with a raised outer border.
Jaques chequerboards and boards from other leading manufacturers can be found on our Chessboards page.
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The Origin of ChessA great deal has been written about the origins of chess and there is still a lot of debate on the subject. The earliest clear ancestor of chess is shaturanga or chaturanga which was invented by a 6th century Indian philosopher. It was a battle between four armies each under the control of a Rajah (king), two players being loosely allied against the other two and and each containing 4 corps - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Boatmen. The board of 64 squares used for shaturanga, was borrowed from an earlier game called ashtapada, which was a race game played in ancient India. Under Hindu law, gambling became forbidden early on in the Hindu civilisation and, to avoid the gambling laws, shaturanga players dispensed with the dice. Another early modification was the merging of the allied armies into a single army making the game a two player form and duplicating the pieces, both developments which have survived until today. Other changes also occurred and the resulting game was called shatranj. There are three versions of the story of arrival of shatranj in Europe - did it come from the Saracens via Spain, from the Byzantine empire as a present to Charlemagne or was it brought back from the Middle East by Knights returning from the Crusades? Nonetheless in Europe, the game developed into modern European chess now played worldwide while in China, Japan, Burma, Thailand and Korea, other variants became just as popular. You can learn more about the History of Chess from The Online Guide to Traditional Games. |