Lewis Chessmen to Hold Court at Cloisters Museum and Gardens
By STAN PARCHIN
May 22, 2011
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| Scandinavian (Norwegian) (?) (ca. 1150-1200). Warder/Rook from Lewis Chessmen. Walrus ivory. H. 6 cm (2.4 in.). Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
More than three decades ago, The Cloisters Museum and Gardens hosted two wondrous special exhibitions. The first show described the artistic legacy of France's Abbot Suger (ca. 1081-1151). Its successor was dedicated to the imagery of the mythical Wild Man. Located in Upper Manhattan's scenic Fort Tryon Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's branch devoted to medieval Europe is once again poised to be the idyllic setting for The Game of Kings: Medieval Ivory Chessmen from the Isle of Lewis (November 15, 2011-April 22, 2012). London's British Museum is loaning more than 30 precious pieces (ca. 1150-1200), made exclusively for leisure, to The Cloisters for their first-ever stateside appearance.
Treasures of Later Medieval Art
Sketchy details about the treasured Lewis Chessmen's discovery reveal that the cache of 78 miniature sculptures was unearthed before April 11, 1831 in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis, near the west coast of Scotland. Each finely carved walrus ivory work owes its remarkable state of preservation to having been deposited inside a dry stone chamber beneath a sand dune. First presented to the Society of Antiquaries for Scotland in Edinburgh, 67 of the exquisite objects are owned by the British Museum. The 11 remaining items are in the National Museum of Scotland's permanent collection.
Scholars traced the chessmen's geographical origins to 12th-century Sweden and Norway based upon stylistic similarities to contemporaneous Scandinavian sculptures. At least four different chess sets' components were found with an ivory belt buckle and a number of large gaming counters. The Lewis Chessmen hoard possibly formed part of a merchant's property lost en route from Norway to Ireland.
Although the chess pieces are distinguished by their costumes, hairstyles and stances, their faces are not individualized. A king, queen and bishop are seated on thrones embellished with foliate patterns, grotesques, geometric interlace and architectural designs. The Warder/Rook is represented as an infantryman. His shield is emblazoned with the Sign of the Cross, attesting to Christianity's pervasiveness in medieval European society. These notable small-scale sculptures reflect the superb artistry of craftsmen during the Middle Ages.
Sources
Caldwell, David, Mark Hall and Caroline M. Wilkinson. The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked (exh. cat.). Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland Enterprises Limited, 2011.
Moore, Brendan (ed.), et al. Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum (exh. cat.). London: The British Museum, 2009, 53, 56.
Robinson, James. The Lewis Chessmen. London: British Museum Press, 2004.