World Map Walnut Travel Backgammon Set with Ararat Outline

World Map Walnut Travel Backgammon Set with Ararat Outline by Hrachya Ohanyan

The middle-sized map board: continents of pale walnut over an ocean poured in royal blue with drifts of green, in a cusped cartouche under the carved peaks of Ararat. This is the 40 cm / 15.7″ Armenian wooden travel backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, Ararat outline. Handmade in walnut, 32 checkers, dice and a branded case.

This is the board for the cabin luggage, the student's first flat, and the player who wants the map board without giving it the whole table. The land is the walnut lid itself, left standing while the resin is poured round it — a deep royal blue this time, streaked with green like weed in shallow water — and the cartouche around it is chip-carved diamond lattice inside rope-and-bead borders. The lid rises to Ararat's twin peaks on the top edge and curls at the corners.

The inside keeps to bare walnut and fine line: twelve hatched points a side under fleur-de-lys tips, a petal wheel ringed with scrolls on each half, the maker's stamped brass hinge between them, and on the back two eternity whirls among rows of rosettes. For the exchange year, the couple who live in two countries, and the player who takes the world with them.

Specifications

• Size open: 40 × 40 cm / 15.7″ × 15.7″
• Size folded: 40 × 20 cm / 15.7″ × 7.9″
• Material: walnut wood, natural colour, varnished; royal-blue and green epoxy resin in the oceans
• Decoration: the world map with the continents left standing in the walnut and the oceans poured in royal-blue and green epoxy resin, sanded flush and polished, inside a cusped rope-and-bead cartouche; chip-carved diamond lattice and rope-and-bead borders; the twin peaks of Mount Ararat with snow ridges carved on the top edge; eternity whirls and rows of rosettes in line work on the back cover; cross-hatched points with fleur-de-lys tips and petal wheels in scrolled rings in line work inside
• Outline: Ararat — the twin peaks of Mount Ararat along the top edge, over a scrolled body with curled 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 travel backgammon board with the Ararat outline
• 32 beech and walnut checkers with velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• Royal blue, streaked green: the ocean on this one is poured deeper than the sky-blue boards, with green running through it, so the pale continents stand out sharp.
• The size between: bigger than the pocket board, smaller than the full-size one — it plays on a café table and still carries the full Ararat outline and lattice.
• 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

Is this the small or the large map board? The middle one. The maker cuts this map in three sizes: a pocket board, this travel board, and the full-size board for the table. All three have the continents left standing in walnut with the oceans poured in resin and polished flush, the Ararat peaks on the top edge and the game cut in line work inside. This one is the size of a large hardback closed, and 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.