Luxury Anush Walnut Backgammon Set with Eternity Sign Checkers

Luxury Anush Walnut Backgammon Set with Eternity Sign Checkers by Hrachya Ohanyan

Tumanyan's Anush in deep relief — the girl with her water jug, Saro piping on his rock, two rams locking horns under a great willow — on a walnut lid crowned by Ararat's peaks, with eternity-sign checkers. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ luxury Armenian wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, Ararat outline. Handmade in walnut and hornbeam.

This is the board for the collector who has the poem board in mind and wants the pieces to match it. The scene is cut in the round: Anush stands in her headscarf with the jug held before her, Saro sits on the rocks with the pipe at his lips, the two rams meet head on in front of a flock, and the willow's fronds hang in long carved strands beside a ridge of mountains. Rococo C-scrolls and diamond lattice frame it; the mountain's snow ridges run along the top.

Inside, the points are pale hornbeam let into the walnut, a petal wheel sits on a pale disc on each half, and a stamped brass hinge holds the bar. The checkers are the difference: each piece carries a cast eternity sign — bronze-toned on the walnut, silver on the beech — set into its face. For the fiftieth, the library, and the player who wants the whole set to match.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: walnut wood, natural colour, finished with natural beeswax; hornbeam inlay inside; checkers in beech and walnut with cast alloy and bronze eternity signs
• Carving: a scene from Tumanyan's Anush in deep relief — Anush in a headscarf holding her water jug, Saro seated on rocks playing his pipe, two rams locking horns before a flock, a great willow with hanging fronds, trees and a mountain ridge — inside a frame of rococo C-scrolls with diamond lattice and rope-and-bead borders; the twin peaks of Mount Ararat with snow ridges carved on the top edge; back cover with a chequerboard of carved basket-weave squares between acanthus scroll panels; pale hornbeam points and petal-wheel discs inlaid 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

• Hand-carved walnut backgammon board with hornbeam inlay, carved on both covers
• 32 beech and walnut checkers, each set with a cast eternity sign, velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• The poem, carved: Anush, Saro, the rams and the willow are cut in deep relief with their own shadows, so the lid reads as a scene from across the room and as a story up close.
• Checkers to match the board: each piece carries a cast eternity sign set into its face — the maker's own pieces, sold separately on their own, here included with the set.
• 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 makes this set different from the other Anush boards? The checkers. The board is the maker's Anush scene — the girl with her jug, Saro with his pipe, the rams and the willow under Ararat — carved in deep relief into walnut with hornbeam let into the points inside; the pieces that come with it are the maker's eternity-sign checkers, each one a beech or walnut disc with a cast metal eternity sign set into the top. The board is finished with natural beeswax. 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.