Lewis Chessmen - Exhibition and Ownership

Exhibition and Ownership

They were exhibited by Ryrie at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, on April 11, 1831. The chessmen were soon after split up, with 10 being purchased by Kirkpatrick Sharpe and the others (67 chessmen and 14 tablemen) were purchased on behalf of the British Museum in London.

Kirkpatrick Sharpe later found another bishop to take his collection up to eleven, all of which were later sold to Lord Londesborough. In 1888 they were again sold, but this time the purchaser was the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who donated the pieces to the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. The eleven are now on display in the Museum of Scotland.

The pieces given to the British Museum are still located there, and most can be found in Room 42 with the registration numbers M&ME 1831, 11–1.78–159. Others have been lent to Scottish museums and temporary exhibitions. A range of resin or plastic replicas are popular items in the Museum shops.

The chessmen were number 5 in the list of British archaeological finds selected by experts at the British Museum for the 2003 BBC Television documentary Our Top Ten Treasures presented by Adam Hart-Davis. They feature in the 2010 BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects as number 61, in the "Status Symbols" section.

A new exhibition entitled "The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked" that includes chesspieces from both the Museum of Scotland and the British Museum collections, along with other relevant objects, is touring Scotland in 2010/11. The exhibition opened in Edinburgh on 21 May 2010 and proceeded to Aberdeen, Shetland and the Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway, opening there on 15 April 2011.

An exhibition entitled "The Game of Kings: Medieval Ivory Chessmen from the Isle of Lewis" at The Cloisters in New York City includes 34 of the chess pieces, all on loan from the British Museum. The exhibit ended April 22, 2012.