A family bought a medieval chess piece for 5 euros, but discovered that it was worth a million

The family kept in a drawer of their house the small 8.8-centimeter image of a medieval warrior carved in walrus ivory, which was part of a game of chess . The grandfather had bought this piece in an antique store in Edinburgh, Scotland, for just over 5 euros. But it turns out that this piece belongs to a collection of the twelfth century, was lost more than 200 years ago and is worth more than a million euros today.

The family – who preferred to remain anonymous – has kept the room since 1964 at home. The grandfather bequeathed the object to her daughter upon her death, and this woman later inherited her children. Nobody thought that it belonged to the Lewis Chessmen collection – the Lewis Games – the oldest known chess game.

These pieces of Lewis were found in 1831 in the Scottish islands of the Outer Hebrides. They have been exhibited in museums in London and Edinburgh. Antique dealers estimate that the coins date from the 12th century, between 1150 and 1200.

At the time of the discovery, 93 pieces of four combined chess sets constituting the collection were collected and the five missing pieces were considered missing, according to the British newspaper.
The telegraph.

But one of these pieces, whose face will surely be familiar to Harry Potter fans, is the one that had in his house the family of this story, which had come to know its true worth when they brought the object to the famous Sotheby's auction house, in London.

The Sotheby's & # 39; s appraiser, gaping

There, the antiquities expert Alexander Kader admitted that he was speechless when he had discovered the object that he had in his hands. The coin, which was purchased for a few pounds, will be sold in July for an estimated value between £ 600,000 – € 678,000 – and a million pounds – € 1.13 million.

"They brought it for evaluation purposes, this happens every day, our doors are open to free evaluations," Kader told the Press Association. "They call us at the counter and we have no idea what we are going to see." It's worth a lot. "

But this time, the auction house specialist was really surprised. "I said," Oh, my God, he's one of Lewis's chess players, "he said, before declaring that his family was "very surprised".

"He's a bit destroyed, he's lost his left eye, but that kind of tired, weather-beaten warrior has added charm to the room," he said.

A warrior in the family

The deceased mother of the present owner of the room saw the object as a talisman, "which had almost magical qualities".

At the same time, a family spokesman issued a statement: "My grandfather was an Edinburgh-based antique dealer.In 1964, he bought an ivory chess game at another merchant's. 39; Edinburgh. "

"For many years, the warrior resided in a drawer of his house, where he was neatly packaged in a small bag."

The Lewis Chessmen are composed of kings and queens, bishops, knights, foot guards and pawns. Some 82 pieces come from the National Museum of Scotland. In addition to chess pieces, the treasure includes 14 play pieces and a loop.

The newly discovered piece is a guardian, a man with a helmet, a shield and a sword and the equivalent of a tower on a modern table. Her discovery remains mysterious, but it is thought that she was discovered by a grazing cow on sandbanks.

Mr. Kader completes the information by stating: "There are four left somewhere, it will take about 150 years for another to appear."

The ivory walrus warrior, more than 9 centuries old, will be exhibited in Edinburgh and London just before the auction on July 2 in the British capital.