Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - We Are Our Mountains

Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - We Are Our Mountains, by Hrachya Ohanyan

Tatik and Papik, carved the way you remember them. In a round rope-ringed frame on the cover, the two heads of "We Are Our Mountains" rise out of the ground exactly as they do above Stepanakert — the grandfather's heavy brow, the grandmother's headscarf falling in carved folds, the tuff blocks picked out course by course, all in real relief. Master Hrachya Ohanyan set them on a stippled ground between lobed panels of fine lattice, ran a beaded border round the edge, and cut the whole board in the silhouette of Mount Ararat, the two peaks rising from the top edge with their snow left in pale bare wood. A handmade Armenian backgammon set hand-carved from a single piece of wood, 23.6″ / 60 cm — the monument and the mountain, together on one lid.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and a full 23.6″ / 60 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens up: a carved wheel ornament in a scrolled ring at the heart of each half, pale points tipped with carved fleur-de-lys flourishes, an ornate bronze hinge on the centre bar and the warm grain of the board running through it all. Thirty-two checkers in light and dark wood, a dice set and the branded carrying case come with it. This is the handmade backgammon board for the family that says "Artsakh" and goes quiet for a second — and then rolls.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, carved from one piece, stained honey brown and varnished
• Motif: the "We Are Our Mountains" monument of Artsakh (Tatik and Papik) carved in relief inside a round rope-ringed frame; stippled ground, lobed lattice panels, beaded border; wheel ornaments and fleur-de-lys points inside
• Outline: Mount Ararat silhouette — the two peaks carved into the top edge with pale snow
• Hardware: cast-bronze hinges and clasps
• Handmade in Armenia by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Backgammon board with bronze hinges and clasps
• 32 checkers made from beech and walnut wood, with velvet bases
• Dice set
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• The board is the mountain: the Ararat outline is cut into the wood itself, snow and all — closed on a shelf, it reads as sculpture before it reads as a game.
• Faces you can feel: Tatik and Papik stand well off the ground, cut by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop — the folds of the scarf, the line of the brow, the joints between the blocks — and no two boards come out the same.
• Ready for the table: full-size 23.6″ / 60 cm board, checkers in light and dark wood, dice and a carrying case — open it and play.

Good to Know Before You Buy

How big is it? Open, the board is 23.6″ / 60 cm square — the standard full size for a living-room table. Closed, it is 23.6″ × 11.8″ / 60 × 30 cm and stands on its own edge, peaks up.

Is the carving real? Yes. The monument, the lattice, the mountain edge and the wheel ornaments inside are all cut into the wood by hand, not printed or pressed. The honey colour is a stain in the wood under the varnish, and the snow on the peaks is the beech left bare.

What about shipping and returns? Shipping is free to the US, Canada and Europe, always tracked; other countries pay a flat $100 (Brazil, Chile and New Zealand $200). Every set is covered by our 30-day returns.

Can I add a name or a date? Yes — choose the engraving option on this page and tell us the text. A name or a date turns it into a personalized backgammon set, and it is the detail people remember years later.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sun and away from radiators, wipe with a dry soft cloth, and store it closed in the case.

Tatik and Papik

Sargis Baghdasaryan's monument went up on a hill above Stepanakert in 1967, and the official name — "We Are Our Mountains" — never quite caught on: everyone called the two heads Tatik and Papik, grandma and grandpa. They have no bodies because they do not need them; the old man and the old woman in her scarf grow straight out of the tuff of Artsakh like something that was always there. The image has been on postage stamps, on the Artsakh coat of arms and on a million photographs taken from the same spot on the road. Carved on a nardi board shaped like Ararat, the two grandparents watch the game the way grandparents do — silently, and missing nothing.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

In 1985, National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine wood craft, introducing a new approach to the age-old traditions of woodworking. After many years of dedication, the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop was established in 2010. Every board passes through 14 stages of production, with 14 separate craftsmen leaving their mark before it reaches its finished form — a piece of wood artistry admired both in Armenia and around the world. Read the story of master Hrachya Ohanyan or explore the full Hrachya Ohanyan backgammon collection.

A Gift That Lasts Generations

For a wedding, a grandparents' anniversary, a Stepanakert birthday celebrated somewhere else now, or the grandson who only knows the two heads from photographs, a hand-carved Armenian backgammon set with Tatik and Papik on the cover is the backgammon gift set that keeps the picture in the family. We send it at Christmas, on Father's Day and to Armenians far from home. It gets opened, played and passed on.