Scotland Asks For Historic Lewis Chessmen

Tuesday, 29 January 2008 21:19

LONDON - Scottish culture minister Linda Fabiani has visited the British Museum in London to ask the institution to return the historic Lewis Chessmen to Scotland, reports the BBC. Fabiani told the Scottish Parliament last week that it was "unacceptable" that 82 of the 93 chessmen were based in London. The 13th century figures were found in 1830 on a beach on the Isle of Lewis. Eleven are housed in an Edinburgh museum.

British Museum officials argue that the figures are admired by millions of visitors each year in London and are frequently loaned to museums in Scotland and elsewhere. Researchers at the museum also point out that the Isle of Lewis was part of Norway at the time of the figures' making, and that the chessmen were likely made in Norway between 1150 and 1200 A.D.

Fabiani said the government would move forward with a proposal for the artifacts' return, and Western Isles parliament member Angus MacNeil is preparing a bill which would facilitate the return by allowing the British Museum to give away or sell parts of its collection.

The Scottish government's position has been scrutinized, however, with some asking whether Scotland would now repatriate Napoleonic artifacts housed there.

The Lewis Chessmen are made of walrus ivory, and are probably Scandinavian, from about 1150 – 1200. A hoard of 93 pieces was found on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland in 1831. Eleven are held by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. A selection of the remainder is in the British Museum.