A small carved ivory figure bought for just £5 by an Edinburgh antiques dealer in 1964 has sold at auction for £735,000 after experts identified it as a long-lost Lewis chessman. The sale set an official record for the most expensive medieval chess piece ever sold at auction, according to Guinness World Records. The 8.8-centimetre figure is made from walrus tusk and represents a warder, which is the equivalent of a rook in modern chess. For 55 years, the chess piece was kept inside a drawer at the home of the dealer’s daughter. She had no idea about its historical importance or how much it could be worth.
Decades in a family drawer
The story of the missing warder began in 1964, when an Edinburgh antiques dealer bought the small ivory figure from another local dealer. He recorded the purchase in his sales book as an “Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman”. After his death, his daughter inherited the figure. A family spokesperson told Sotheby’s that although the family did not know exactly what the object was, its owner loved it because of its unusual appearance. “My mother was very fond of the Chessman as she admired its intricacy and quirkiness,” the spokesperson said in a statement released through the auction house. “She believed that it was special and thought perhaps it could even have had some magical significance. For many years it resided in a drawer in her home where it had been carefully wrapped in a small bag.” The family eventually took the figure to Sotheby’s in London for a free valuation. Experts quickly recognised that it was a genuine Lewis chessman.
Expert identification at Sotheby’s
Alexander Kader, Sotheby’s co-worldwide head of European sculpture and works of art, recalled when the family first brought the figure in for an assessment. “They brought it in for assessment. That happens everyday. Our doors are open for free valuations,” Kader told the Press Association. “We get called down to the counter and have no idea what we are going to see. More often than not, it’s not worth very much. I said, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s one of the Lewis Chessmen.‘” Kader kept the discovery secret for six months while experts carried out checks to confirm its identity. He described the warder as having a weathered appearance and said its worn condition added to its historical charm. “When you hold this characterful warder in your hand or see him in the room, he has real presence,” Kader told The Guardian. “This is one of the most exciting and personal rediscoveries to have been made during my career.”
Significance of the Lewis hoard
The newly identified figure is part of the famous Lewis Chessmen collection. The original hoard contains 93 carved objects and was discovered in 1831 among the sand dunes of Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Historians believe the pieces were made in Norway between 1150 and 1200 AD. Most of the collection, including 82 pieces, is kept at the British Museum in London. Another 11 pieces are held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Before this discovery, five pieces from the original collection were believed to be missing. These included one knight and four warders. With the sale of the newly identified warder at Sotheby’s, four pieces are still missing. Kader said finding the remaining pieces could take many generations. “There are still four out there somewhere,” he said. “It might take another 150 years for another one to pop up.”