Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World

Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World - Hardcover

$35.00
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Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World
  • Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World
Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World - Hardcover

Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World - Hardcover

by Nancy Marie Brown
$35.00
$35.00

Book Overview

by Nancy Marie Brown (Author)

"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.

Author Biography

NANCY MARIE BROWN is the author of highly praised books of nonfiction, including Song of the Vikings. She is fluent in Icelandic, and spends her summers in Iceland. She has deep ties to the Scandinavian cultural institutions in the U.S. Brown lives in East Burke, VT.

Number of Pages: 288
Dimensions: 1.3 x 9.1 x 6.4 IN
Publication Date: September 01, 2015
ISBN9781137279378
Author Nancy Marie Brown
PublisherSt. Martin's Press
GenreHistory and Arts
FormatHardcover
PublishedSeptember 2015
LanguageENG- English
Pages288
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Art History Nonfiction

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