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The Clonard chess piece is an historic bone or ivory playing piece depicting a queen seated on a throne, found in a bog in Clonard, Co. Meath, Ireland, some time before 1817. The piece dates from the late twelfth century AD and is now in the
The Clonard chess piece is an historic bone or ivory playing piece depicting a queen seated on a throne, found in a bog in Clonard, Co. Meath, Ireland, some time before 1817. The piece dates from the late twelfth century AD and is now in the National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...
in Dublin.
The figure may come from same Viking workshop tradition which produced the large group known as the Lewis Chessmen
The Lewis chessmen ( no, Lewisbrikkene; gd, Fir-Tàilisg; sco, Lewis chesmen) or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the bay where they were found, are a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most o ...
, found in the Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
, Scotland. Most of these are carved from walrus ivory, with a few made instead from whale teeth.
Description
The Clonard chess piece is made of ivory or polished bone with a core of lead, with a small iron spike at the base, presumably for attachment to the playing surface. The figure has a crown and wears a shoulder length veil over a mantle. The edges of the mantle are folded back revealing a decorative border of dots and crosses. The left hand is raised to the cheek and is supported by the right hand at the elbow. The chair the figure sits on has projecting arms. The back of the chair is decorated with a pair of two-legged dragons with backward looking heads. Their tails are fishlike and intertwined. The mouths of the animals are joined by a beaded scroll. The letters S, P and K are written on the back in Lombardic script. A perforation through the neck seems to have been added at a later date.History
The chess piece was found in a bog in Clonard, Co. Meath, Ireland some time before 1817. A number of similar pieces were reportedly discovered at the same time but the Queen is the sole survivor, with the rest of the pieces now lost. As recorded byJohn O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to:
*John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert
*John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator
*John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...
in the 'Book of Rights' (1847), the Clonard pieces were in the possession of Dr Edward Francis Tuke (c.1778-1846) who had a small private museum at 106 Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Lo ...
, West in Dublin. Tuke reportedly gave the Queen piece to George Petrie, an artist and antiquarian member of the Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
, around 1817.
See also
References
{{reflist Archaeological artifacts History of County Meath Ivory works of art Medieval chess Chess in Ireland Collection of the National Museum of Ireland