09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
It's fantastic that Lewis Chessmen will reach a wider audience
The Chessmen have become unlikely diplomatic pawns between Britain and France. In return for the Tapestry, which depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings, the British Museum will loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen, and other items to France.
READ MORE: British Museum to loan Lewis Chessmen to France for Bayeux Tapestry
The Chessmen – a famous hoard of 93 objects – were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis. Eleven are in the National Museums Scotland collection, while the remaining 82 are in the British Museum's collection, six of which are on loan to Museum nan Eilean in Lewis.
It is clearly fantastic to be able to showcase the Chessmen to a wider audience and allow others to check them out.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
