900-year-old chess piece fetches more than ₹6 crore in auction | Trending - Hindustan Times
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900-year-old chess piece fetches more than 6 crore in auction

London | ByAssociated Press
Jul 03, 2019 06:15 PM IST

The Lewis Chessmen are intricate, expressive chess pieces in the form of Norse warriors, carved from walrus ivory in the 12th century.

A 900-year-old Viking chess piece bought for a few dollars in the 1960s has sold at auction for 735,000 pounds ($927,000).

It was bought by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964.(Sotheby’s)
It was bought by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964.(Sotheby’s)

The 3 1/2-inch (8.8-centimeter) Lewis Chessman sold to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday.

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The Lewis Chessmen are intricate, expressive chess pieces in the form of Norse warriors, carved from walrus ivory in the 12th century.

A hoard of dozens of pieces, amounting to four chess sets, was discovered in 1831 on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis — but five of the pieces were missing.

The Sotheby’s piece, the equivalent of a rook, is the first missing chessman to be identified.

Intrigued tweeple had a lot to say about this chess piece. “900 year old chess piece .... if only he could speak?,” wrote a Twitter user. “Would ya pay for this chess piece???” asked another. “Oh what a #Knight indeed .. #Stunning chess piece!” tweeted a third.

It was bought by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964 and passed down to his family before being identified as a Lewis figure.

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