Happy birthday to you :)

It's Mikes birthday today. Only seen him for about five minutes as he was off to a course in Inverness so we will celebrate with a few days away in February.
A few years ago I bought Mike a replica set of the Lewis Chessmen. It came with a rather disappointing paper chess board so this year I bought him a Rosewood Chess board and it now sits neatly in the corner of the lounge.

93 chess pieces- 78 chessmen, 14 tablesmen and a buckle to secure the bag were found on a beach in a small, drystone chamber in Uig , Isle of Lewis in 1831.
They were amazingly well preserved ,made out of walrus ivory and whales teeth crafted between the years 1150 and 1200
They are believed to have come from Norway ( Isle of Lewis being part of the Kingdom Of Norway until 1266 when it became part of Scotland) and maybe left by a merchant as he travelled on a trade route to Ireland.

Several pieces are displayed in Museums including a few that we saw in the National Museum of Scotland when we there with Soozy and Colin :) I really like the detail in their faces and it would be hard to choose a favourite but I do like the thoughtful looking Queen with her hand on her cheek and the Knight that looks like he's riding Shetland pony :)