Mourne Studios - Lewis Chessmen

I remembered seeing that... (berserkers as pawns). Check this video

Yes, not a path I’ll be heading down but I can see the attraction for sure. 👍

Time to add that set Powder.

@hermanjohnell - thank you. These videos are interesting and insightful. I am not fully through the last one yet but I’ll continue to watch through the day. Cheers, Mark

Great video Herman...but...You need a shave!

I´ve heard that before...

I sat on a boat from the swedish mainland to Gotland for a few hours today and found this reasonably priced german made set of Lewis chessmen with berserker pawns which I promptly ordered.

Nice Lewis set! I'd like to see a picture displaying the Rook used in it please?

I ordered a medium sized set. No clue how big the pieses are...

Thanks @hermanjohnell, the larger (and different) berserker as Rook is a smart choice!

I am pleased to update that I ordered a set for my brother and I from Mourne Studios earlier last week.

One set in bone (colour) and burgundy and one set in bone and bronze to fit my brother’s vintage copper board.

There is no rush on my set - as they are made to order - I did not want to pressure the maker regarding the speed of casting nor hand-painting. They’ll arrive in mid-late November or early December.

In the end, we created a custom order of a 40 piece set - with two extra Kings, Queens and Berserkers in each colour. These extras will provide me options on what pieces to play and display - for example, in reproducing the originals - some of the original royals had broken crowns, some not - I wanted both. 😊

They will be large and heavy - the King in 9cm tall with a 5 cm bae.

I weighed up getting berserkers as pawns but decided against it. I can however see the attraction in that it may look more uniform and play better. Alas, I hope I don’t regret my decision to stay with the original pawns.

Anyway - there you have it. I’m rather excited. I have coveted a good and faithful reproduction in the Lewis Chessmen…. Fingers crossed that’s what I get.

I know there are many, many and cheaper variants out there but in this instance (rare for me!), I have decided to invest a tad more in the hope that I receive a detailed, accurate and beautiful set of Lewis Chessmen.👌

Enjoy your purchase. 👍 The fact that you purchased them while on a boat to Gotland made me smile - what a modern world we live in …. buying reproductions of ancient pieces while in transit!

Cheers @MCH818 - while not my pieces, you’ll note from the pictures below the subtle variations I talk about above … I may be a fool (indeed, quite possibly!) but I think there’s a certain playful quirkiness in having a set that replicates these variations ….🤞

(Pictures below from Mourne Studios website - I do not have my chessmen yet.)

Does one need more than one set of Lewis chessmen? No. But then, how many Staunton sets does one have?

Collecting and hoarding are sometimes confused with each other (and are perhaps distinguished by intention). I can imagine someone collecting Lewis sets, just as its possible to collect Staunton sets.

Or hoard... Well, the reason I ordered my second Lewis set was that it has berserkers as pawns. I do no see me adding to my Lewis hoard/collection anytime soon.