IT will be the biggest cheque move the Chessman has ever been part of.

A Lewis chess piece discovered by an Edinburgh family has made the move from a drawer to a windfall, selling for £735,000 at auction.

The warder, a “bashed up” piece with a missing left eye, has now set a record for its category in the sale.

The medieval chess piece, part of the same set that was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, was bought by an antiques dealer for £5 in 1964.

Now, after being sold to a private collector, it holds the record for a medieval chess piece at auction, Sotherby’s in London said.

The previous record for a medieval chess piece was set, also at Sotheby’s in London in 2016, when a piece of a King made in Germany believed to be from 1300 to 1320, sold for £653,000.

The Lewis Chessmen are a hoard of 93 objects regarded as the most famous chess pieces to have survived from the medieval world.

But the whereabouts of five pieces from the collection have remained a mystery.

The family of that antiques dealer only learned recently that the 8.8cm warder, made from walrus ivory in the late 12th or early 13th century, was one of the missing treasures.

Having looked after it for 50 years without fully realising its importance, they took it to Sotheby’s auction house in London.

They found of its importance and remain “quite amazed”.

Alexander Kader, Sotheby’s co-worldwide head of European sculpture and works of art, said: “This is one of the most exciting and personal rediscoveries to have been made during my career.

“It has been such a privilege to bring this piece of history to auction, and it has been amazing having him on view at Sotheby’s over the last week – he has been a huge hit.

“When you hold this characterful warder in your hand or see him in the room, he has real presence.”

Mr Kader, who examined the piece for the family, previously said that his “jaw dropped” when he realised what they had in their possession.

“They brought it in for assessment. That happens every day. Our doors are open for free valuations,” he said last month.

“We get called down to the counter and have no idea what we are going to see.

“More often than not, it’s not worth very much. I said, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s one of the Lewis Chessmen’.”

He added: “It’s a little bit bashed up. It has lost its left eye. But that kind of weather-beaten, weary warrior added to its charm.”

The Lewis Chessmen comprise of seated kings and queens, bishops, knights and standing warders and pawns.

Eighty two pieces are now in the British Museum and 11 pieces held by the National Museum of Scotland.

As well as the chess pieces, the hoard includes 14 “tablemen” gaming pieces and a buckle.

Since the hoard was uncovered in 1831, one knight and four warders have been missing from the four combined chess sets.

The newly discovered piece is a warder, a man with helmet, shield and sword and the equivalent of a rook on a modern chess board.

The discovery of the hoard remains “shrouded in incredible mystery” even today, with stories of it being dug up by a cow grazing on sandy banks.

It is thought it was buried, possibly by a merchant to avoid taxes after being shipwrecked, shortly after the objects were made and so remained underground for 500 years.