• Jump to main content
  • Home page
  • What's on
  • Site map
  • Search
  • About us
  • Freedom of Information
  • Complaints procedure
  • Privacy policy
  • Contact us
  • Access key details

National Museums Scotland

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Venue hire
  • Home
Search
  • Our museums
  • What's on
  • Highlights
  • Kids
  • Learning
  • Collections & research
  • Making connections
  • Support us
  • Shop
  • National Museum
    • What's on
    • Plan your visit
    • Explore the galleries
    • Exhibitions
    • Past exhibitions
      • Extremes
      • Silver
      • Picasso: Fired with Passion
      • Pixar: 20 Years of Animation
      • Fonn 's Duthchas
      • Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon
      • Garden Detectives
      • Ballast
      • Salt of the Earth
      • Gifted
      • Iron Age gold
      • Meet Your Maker
      • Treasured
      • Shining Lights
      • A Passion for Glass
      • Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked
        • Meet the chessmen
        • Zoom in on the Chessmen
        • About the exhibition
          • Visitor comments
        • Unmask the chessmen
        • Voices of the Chessmen
        • Buy online
      • Behind the Scenes
      • 26 Treasures
      • Admiral Cochrane
      • Evolution's Missing Chapter
      • Fascinating Mummies
      • See Scotland by Train
      • A Sense of Place
      • Sounds Global
      • One Thousand Points of Light
      • Catherine the Great
      • Dr Livingstone, I presume?
      • Vikings!
      • Art from Iran
    • Our new museum
    • School visits
    • Brave
    • Museum Explorer app
  • War Museum
  • Museum of Rural Life
  • Museum of Flight
  • Museum of Costume
  • Museums Collection Centre
The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked

About the exhibition

Chess pieces from the National Museum of Scotland and British Museum are currently on tour across Scotland.

The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked casts fresh light on one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made in Scotland.

The exhibition uses new research to look at the mystery and intrigue surrounding the Lewis Chessmen, explore the stories surrounding their discovery and show how the characters reflected society at the time they were made.

Tour dates

National Museum of Scotland

Fri 21 May-Sun 19 September 2010

Aberdeen Art Gallery

Thu 7 October-Sat 8 January 2011

Shetland Museum and Archives

Fri 21 Jan-Sun 27 March 2011

Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway

Fri 15 April-Mon 12 September 2011

See what visitors have said about the exhibition at its first venue.

The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked is supported by:

The British Museum Partnership UKScottish Government Logo

Share this page

  • Facebook Icon Facebook
  • Del.iciou.us Icon Delicious
  • StumbleUpon Icon Stumble Upon
  • Twitter Icon Twitter

What are these links?

Tour venues

  • Aberdeen Art Gallery
  • Shetland Museum and Archives
  • Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway

External links

  • Lewis Chessmen 4 star Scotsman review
  • Lewis Chessmen move back to home territory by The Times
  • Lewis Chessmen in Washington Post Gallery
  • Lewis Chessmen in Art Daily
  • Lewis Chessmen in the Guardian
  • Harry Potter Wizard Chess

Connect with us

  • Follow us on Twitter Twitter
  • Join our Flickr projects Flickr
  • Read about our Museums Blog
  • Find out more on Facebook Facebook

Keep in touch

Sign up for our regular e-newsletter for all the latest news and events.

Sign up

  • Contact us
  • Site map
  • Privacy policy
  • Press office
  • Current vacancies

Shop online

National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130