Luxury Lavash Bakers Walnut Backgammon Set, Hand-Painted

Luxury Lavash Bakers Walnut Backgammon Set, Hand-Painted by Hrachya Ohanyan

Two women baking lavash — one rolling the dough, one at the tonir with a finished sheet, loaves stacked behind — painted in oils under clear epoxy in a carved lid. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ luxury Armenian wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, classic outline. Handmade in walnut, 32 checkers, dice and a branded case.

This is the board for the family that still bakes on a Saturday, the restaurant with the tonir in the window, and the player who wants a scene rather than a symbol. The painting is loose and bright: one baker in red leans on her rolling pin, the other in blue lifts a golden sheet from the oven, the field runs green to a lilac mountain, and clear epoxy over the oils gives it depth. Round the disc, star stipple, lattice and rope borders are chip-carved into the walnut.

Open, every point is a drop of cobalt-blue resin under a carved scroll tip and each petal wheel sits in a blue-filled scrolled ring, with a stamped brass hinge on the bar; the back is a chequerboard of red-and-blue resin and walnut squares between two eternity whirls. For the bakery, the Armenian kitchen, and the player who wants bread on the table even between meals.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: walnut wood, natural colour, varnished; oil painting under clear epoxy resin, blue resin in the points
• Decoration: two women baking lavash at a tonir — one rolling dough, one lifting a baked sheet — with stacked loaves, a green field and mountains, painted by hand in oils on a round disc and sealed under clear epoxy, inside a rope-and-bead ring; cusped panels of chip-carved star stipple, diamond lattice and rope-and-bead borders on the lid; back cover with a chequerboard of red-and-blue resin and walnut squares, two eternity whirls in relief and lattice; points and petal wheels in scrolled rings filled with cobalt-blue resin inside
• Outline: Classic — straight edges and square corners
• Hardware: brass hinge stamped with the maker's mark, cast-bronze clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Walnut backgammon board with a hand-painted disc under epoxy
• 32 beech and walnut checkers with velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• A scene, not a symbol: two bakers, the oven, the loaves and the mountain — a whole moment of Armenian life painted on the lid and sealed under polished epoxy.
• Carving round the painting: the disc sits in a lid of chip-carved stipple and lattice with rope borders, so the painting has a frame cut from the same walnut.
• Make it theirs: add a name or a date at checkout to mark a birthday, a retirement or years of games together.

Good to Know Before You Buy

What are the women doing? Baking lavash, the thin Armenian flatbread: one rolls the dough out flat, the other slaps it against the inside wall of the tonir, a clay oven sunk in the ground, and lifts it out golden a minute later — the stack behind them is the morning's work. The scene is painted by hand in oils on the walnut and poured over with clear epoxy; the painter's tones vary a little from board to board. The points inside are filled with blue resin, and nothing is printed or applied.

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 policy.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store it closed in its carrying case.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine woodcraft in 1985 and founded his workshop in Yerevan in 2010. This board belongs to his collection of wooden backgammon sets, each one made by hand by the craftspeople of that workshop. Read Hrachya Ohanyan's story or explore the full backgammon collection.

Also known as nardi (нарды), nardy, tavla or shesh besh.