Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Ivory Vikings : the mystery of the most famous chessmen in the world and the woman who made them / Nancy Marie Brown.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, [2015]Description: 280 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cmContent type:
  • still image
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1137279370 (hardback)
  • 9781137279378 (hardback)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction : The Missing Pieces -- The Rooks -- The Bishops -- The Queens -- The Kings -- The Knights -- Acknowledgments : The Pawns.
Summary: In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Who carved them? Where? Brown explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games.
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 736.6209 B879 Available 33111008106417
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 736.6209 B879 Available 33111008057578
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"A fascinating tale of discovery and mystery." -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune

In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. The Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone . Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects.

Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? Nancy Marie Brown's Ivory Vikings explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games. In the process, Ivory Vikings presents a vivid history of the 400 years when the Vikings ruled the North Atlantic, and the sea-road connected countries and islands we think of as far apart and culturally distinct: Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland and North America. The story of the Lewis chessmen brings from the shadows an extraordinarily talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction : The Missing Pieces -- The Rooks -- The Bishops -- The Queens -- The Kings -- The Knights -- Acknowledgments : The Pawns.

In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Who carved them? Where? Brown explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games.

Powered by Koha