This twelfth-century ivory chess piece is carved in the form of an enthroned bishop who wears a miter, holds a crosier, and makes a gesture of blessing with two raised fingers. Two attendants crouch beside him, rendered on a much smaller scale to suggest lower status. The kneeling figure on his right, wearing a monastic haircut called a tonsure, gestures to an open book. The figure on the opposite side rests on his staff, head in hand.

The game of chess was probably brought to England by the Vikings, although it first appeared in India in the sixth century and was known in Europe as early as the tenth century. Chess was quite popular in medieval England, particularly among royalty, such as kings Henry I (r. 1100–1135), Henry II (r. 1154–89), and John (r. 1199–1216). The Museum's chess piece is similar to another set of medieval figurines known as the Lewis Chessmen, now in the British Museum. These are also made from walrus ivory, and they date to the mid-twelfth century, but they are carved in a more abstract style.

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