Pomegranate Walnut Backgammon Set in Red Epoxy

Pomegranate Walnut Backgammon Set in Red Epoxy by Hrachya Ohanyan

A pomegranate cut open, its skin and calyx red resin and every seed a separate drop of red, set flush into a smooth disc of pale walnut. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ Armenian wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, classic outline. Handmade in walnut, with 32 checkers, dice cut from billiard balls and a branded case.

This is the board for the Armenian bride's new kitchen, the friend who has a pomegranate on everything, and the player who wants one strong colour on a pale board. The fruit is cut into the lid seed by seed — dozens of small hollows, each poured with pearl-red resin, the walnut left between them as the pith — the split skin and calyx poured the same red and polished level with the wood. The disc stays smooth inside its rope-and-bead ring; star-lattice panels flank it, lattice to the corners.

Open, the pale walnut carries the game in line work only — cross-hatched points under fleur-de-lys tips, a petal wheel in a scrolled ring on each half — with a stamped brass hinge on the bar, so the red on the lid stays the only colour. For the housewarming, the Armenian wedding list, and the player who wants the pomegranate on a board light enough for a small room.

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; pearl-red epoxy resin in the pomegranate
• Decoration: a pomegranate cut open — skin, calyx and each seed cut into the walnut and filled with pearl-red epoxy resin, sanded flush and polished — on a smooth disc inside a rope-and-bead ring; cusped panels of chip-carved star lattice either side; diamond lattice on the outer fields; rope-and-bead borders; petal wheels in scrolled rings and cross-hatched points in line work 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

• Epoxy-inlaid walnut backgammon board, carved lattice around the disc
• 32 beech and walnut checkers with velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• Seed by seed: every seed is its own pocket of resin with walnut between, so the fruit reads as a pomegranate, not a red blob, and catches the light seed by seed.
• One colour, well placed: red on pale walnut and nothing else — the lattice and the line work inside stay the wood's own colour, so the fruit is the only thing the eye lands on.
• 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

Why the pomegranate? In Armenia the pomegranate stands for abundance and good luck — it is on the wedding table, the New Year table and half the kitchens in the country. Here it is cut into the walnut lid, skin and seeds, each hollow filled with pearl-red epoxy resin and polished level with the wood; the lattice round it is chip-carved and the board is varnished. 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.