"RUMINATING ON THE CHESSMEN"
12" x 16" hand-signed/numbered Limited Edition Giclee Print
A Jan Clizer Limited Edition Canvas museum quality (archival) print. It comes mounted on stretcher bars with wire, and is ready to hang or frame. A Certificate of Authenticity is included. Only 350 of this edition will be offered for purchase.
A hoard of beautifully carved ivory chessmen was discovered in the machair (tall beachgrassland) on this westerly-facing beach on the rugged Uig Penninsula, Isle of Lewis, in 1831. It may be one of the most studied chess sets of all time…96 pieces of fascinating art, skill, and history, thought to be buried by Vikings in the distant mists of time. Funnily enough, it is said to have been unearthed by a local Highland cow, a piece kicked up by a heavy cloven hoof. The Highlander I met here on a blustery October day didn’t tell me if it was one of his ancestors we have to thank for bringing the Lewis Chessmen to light, but looked as though it was entirely possible,standing there looking like a creature who just walked out from behind an ancient boulder, himself!