Armenian Travel Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Armenian Alphabet, 40 cm

Armenian Travel Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Armenian Alphabet, 40 cm, by Hrachya Ohanyan

All thirty-six letters on a board that fits in a rucksack. The cover of this 15.7″ / 40 cm travel set is the Armenian alphabet carved in relief — Ա to Ք, each letter standing off the dark ground with the curling tails and bird-like flourishes of the old manuscript hands, in rows like a page from the Matenadaran. Around them master Hrachya Ohanyan set a pale carved border of palmettes and flowers, kept the outline classic and square, and stained the beech a deep brown so the letters catch the light. A handmade Armenian travel backgammon set hand-carved from a single piece of wood, small enough to go anywhere and detailed enough to stop people mid-sentence.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and a 15.7″ / 40 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens up: a parchment scroll with a quill laid across it at the heart of each half, in pale wood on dark, and points tipped with tiny carved ears of wheat. Thirty-two checkers in light and dark wood, a dice set and the branded carrying case come with it. This is the portable backgammon set for the train to the sea, the summer house, the café in the diaspora and the grandchild's first lesson in the aybuben — one letter a game.

Specifications

• Size open: 40 × 40 cm / 15.7″ × 15.7″
• Size folded: 40 × 20 cm / 15.7″ × 7.9″
• Material: beech wood, carved from one piece, stained dark and varnished
• Motif: the 36 letters of the Armenian alphabet carved in relief across the cover in the ornamental manuscript style; pale carved palmette border; scroll-and-quill panels and wheat-ear points inside
• Outline: classic, with carved stepped edges
• 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

• Travel size, full alphabet: 15.7″ / 40 cm folds to 15.7″ × 7.9″ and slips into a rucksack — and every one of the thirty-six letters is still cut by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop.
• A quill inside: the scroll-and-pen panels and the wheat-ear points carry the theme through — the board is a page, front and back.
• Ready anywhere: checkers in light and dark wood, dice and a case — open it on a café table and play.

Good to Know Before You Buy

How big is it? Open, the board is 15.7″ / 40 cm square — the travel size, two steps below the full 60 cm board. Closed, it is 15.7″ × 7.9″ / 40 × 20 cm and slips into a rucksack or a weekend bag.

Is the carving real? Yes. The letters, the palmette border, the stepped edges and the wheat-ear points inside are all cut into the wood by hand, not printed or pressed — the letters stand off the ground and you feel every stroke. The dark colour is a stain in the wood under the varnish.

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.

The Alphabet

In 405 the monk Mesrop Mashtots gave Armenians thirty-six letters of their own, and within a generation the Bible, the Greek philosophers and the first Armenian histories were being copied out in them. The alphabet has outlasted every empire that ruled the country since; it is carved on the wall at Oshakan where Mashtots is buried, taught in the first week of school, and kept on a shelf in the Matenadaran in some twenty thousand manuscripts. On a nardi board small enough to carry, it goes wherever the family goes.

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 Travels Well

For the student flying out in September, a teacher's desk drawer, a child's first Armenian letters or the cousin who lives out of a suitcase, a hand-carved Armenian travel backgammon set with the alphabet on the cover is the backgammon gift set that fits in the hand luggage. We send it at Christmas, before the summer and to Armenians far from home. It gets opened, played and taken along.