Osher Lecture- Lewis Chessmen Mystery

OSHER Lifelong Learning - The Mystery of the Lewis Chessmen, by Nancy Marie Brown on May 18, 2016 The Lewis Chessmen are the most famous chessmen of all time. Found in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in the 1800s, these walrus-ivory figurines captivate visitors to the British Museum — each face is individual and full of quirks. Now thought to be carved by an Icelandic woman in about 1200, they present a capsule history of the Vikings in the North Atlantic when the sea-road connected countries we think of as far apart and culturally distinct.