Game piece, chess piece

Bone chess piece (bishop) decorated with incised lines and ring-and-dot designs. It has two projections at the top.

Chess was invented in India by the 6th century AD and then spread through the Islamic world. The game was introduced to northern Europe by the Arabs in the late 10th century. The game became fashionable in England by the 1100s. When chess moved from India into Islamic countries, the ban on figurative images meant that the pieces had to be made in very stylised forms. These simplified designs were then adopted in Europe (though detailed figurative chess pieces were also made, such as the famous Lewis chessmen in the British Museum).

The bishop chess piece began in India as an elephant. The Arabic word for the piece was 'Alfil' and was changed into 'aufin' or 'alfin' in Europe. The first references to the term 'bishop' appear in 17th century literature, though figurative chess pieces represent the figure of a bishop much earlier. The Arabic depiction of an elephant featured two forward projecting humps (probably representing the elephant's tusks) on a cylindrical body.