The Cloister Museum and Gardens is offering a special exhibition of medieval ivory chessmen from the Island of Lewis in the exhibit, Game of Kings.
In 1831, a myriad of priceless luxury goods, which included more than 70 chess pieces and several other objects, all made of carved walrus ivory and dating from the 12th Century, was found on the Isle of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland.
The chess pieces, named The Lewis Chessmen, hail from at least four distinct, but incomplete sets. The pieces are arguably the most famous chess pieces in the world today, and are among the icons of the collections of the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
For this exhibition, more than thirty chessmen from the collection of the British Museum are being shown at The Cloisters. The Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. This represents the first time such a large ensemble of the chessmen has traveled outside the United Kingdom.
The Exhibition runs until April 22 and is located at The Romanesque Hall.
For more information on this event, visit The Cloister Museum's website.
The Cloisters Museum and Gardens: Fort Tryon Park, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive
