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A small warrior figurine with walrus tusks bought for £ 5 in 1964 – which has been stored for years in a domestic drawer – is a missing piece of one of the true wonders of the medieval world, do we have revealed.
Lewis's chess pieces were discovered in 1831 in the Outer Hebrides and became popular museum collections in London and Edinburgh. They also became well known in the popular culture of Noggin the Nog to Harry Potter.
But of the 93 pieces found, five were missing. Until now. Sotheby's auction house announced Monday that it has authenticated a missing piece and that it will sell it in July for an estimated value between 600,000 and 1 million pounds.
The missing piece, measuring 8.8 cm in height, is a Lewis keeper and was bought 55 years ago at £ 5, about £ 100 of today's money.
He was originally labeled "former Walrus defender warrior chess player" and bought in Edinburgh by an antique dealer who forwarded it to his family, who asked to remain anonymous.
A family member stated that he had been stored in their grandfather's house, without anyone knowing how important it was. "When my grandfather died, my mother inherited the piece of chess. My mother was very fond of chess because she admired her complexity and originality.
"She thought it was special and thought it might even have had a magical meaning. For many years he resided in a drawer of his house where he had been carefully packed in a small bag. From time to time, she removed the chess piece from the drawer to appreciate its uniqueness. "
Lewis's failures were probably made in Norway, part of the Western Isles between 1150 and 1200. They were found buried in the beach and the theory is that they were hidden for safety on the road to be traded in Ireland.
Today, 82 of the known pieces are in the British Museum and 11 in the National Museum of Scotland. The British historian Neil MacGregor included them in his world history in a series of 100 objects for BBC Radio 4 and explained how "the much appreciated works take us to the heart of the medieval world". He said that they showed not only high status, wealth and power, but also "knowledge, taste and intellect".
Alexander Kader, Head of Sculpture and European Art at Sotheby, said this discovery was "one of the most exciting and personal rediscoveries ever made during my career".
"Today, all chess players have a pale ivory color, but the dark tone of Lewis's new guardian clearly has the potential to offer a valuable and new insight into how d & # 39; 39, other Lewis players have been watching in the past. "
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