An unhinged expression and the biting of shield identifies this enigmatic figure as a berserker, fierce warriors of Norse saga. More comic now than fearsome to contemporary eyes, our pewter warrior indulges in nothing wilder than dispensing salt.

Unearthed on the Isle of Lewis in 1831, in the wilderness of Scotland's remote Outer Hebrides, the 12th century Lewis chessmen are exquisitely carved in walrus ivory, and very likely of Scandinavian origin. Of the seventy-eight pieces known today, the British Museum's collection of sixty-seven are one of its most popular attractions.