Luxury Wooden Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Coat of Arms of Uzbekistan, Two-Sided

Luxury Wooden Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Coat of Arms of Uzbekistan, Two-Sided, by Hrachya Ohanyan

Two covers, and not a plain inch on either. On the front, in a round rope-ringed frame, master Hrachya Ohanyan carved the coat of arms of Uzbekistan in deep relief — the Humo bird with its wings spread wide, the sun rising over the rivers behind it, a wreath of cotton on one side and wheat on the other, the eight-pointed star with its crescent at the top and the ribbon reading O'ZBEKISTON below, every feather standing clear of a stippled ground. Two round cotton-star ornaments — cotton bolls arranged in an eight-pointed star — flank the emblem, and carved acanthus scrolls curl out of each corner of the contour outline. Turn the board over and the back cover carries a great eight-pointed star filled with floral arabesque, the same two cotton-star ornaments beside it. A luxury wooden backgammon set hand-carved from a single piece of beech at the full 23.6″ / 60 cm, stained a deep honey brown, with more carving on it than most boards have on both faces together.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the 23.6″ / 60 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens on something rarer still: the points are chains of small eight-pointed stars in pale wood, the coat of arms is worked in pale wood at the heart of each half, and an ornate bronze hinge sits on the centre bar. The thirty-two checkers are carved too, each one carrying the emblem of Uzbekistan on its face, in light and dark wood. A dice set and the branded carrying case come with it. This is the handmade backgammon board for the embassy reception room, the Tashkent family with a long table and the man who has finally found a nardy board as decorated as the tea house he learned in.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, carved from one piece, stained honey brown and varnished
• Motif: front cover — the coat of arms of Uzbekistan (Humo bird, rising sun, cotton and wheat wreath, star and crescent, O'ZBEKISTON ribbon) carved in deep relief in a rope-ringed frame, two round cotton-star ornaments, acanthus corner scrolls; back cover — a large eight-pointed star of floral arabesque with the same ornaments; inside — star-chain points and the emblem in pale wood; checkers carved with the emblem
• Outline: contour — scalloped sides and a cusped top edge with carved scroll corners, stepped rims
• Hardware: cast-bronze hinges and clasps
• Entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Backgammon board with bronze hinges and clasps
• 32 checkers in beech and walnut wood, each carved with the coat of arms of Uzbekistan, with velvet bases
• Dice set
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• Carved on both covers: the emblem on the front and the eight-pointed star on the back are both cut by hand in deep relief in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop — whichever way it lies on the shelf, it shows a carving, and no two boards come out the same.
• Carved inside and on the checkers: star-chain points, the coat of arms at the heart of each half and thirty-two checkers each carved with the emblem — the detail carries on where other boards stop.
• Ready for the table: full-size 23.6″ / 60 cm board, carved checkers in light and dark wood, dice and a carrying case — open it and play.

Good to Know Before You Buy

How big is it? Open, the board is 23.6″ / 60 cm square — the standard full size for a living-room table. Closed, it is 23.6″ × 11.8″ / 60 × 30 cm and stands on its own edge.

Is the carving real? Yes. The Humo bird and the emblem, the eight-pointed star on the back, the cotton-star ornaments, the acanthus scrolls, the rope and beaded borders and the contour edges are all cut into the wood by hand, not printed or pressed. Inside, the star points and the pale emblem are worked into the wood, and the emblem on each checker is carved. The honey 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 Humo Bird and the Eight-Pointed Star

Uzbekistan's arms were adopted in 1992: the Humo bird — the bird of happiness and freedom in the old Turkic stories — opens its wings before a rising sun and the two rivers, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, with cotton on the left and wheat on the right, the two crops of the valleys, and an eight-pointed star with a crescent and star at the crest. The eight-pointed star is older than the emblem: it is the girih star of Samarkand and Bukhara, the shape tiled across the domes of the Registan and the walls of the madrasas, and master Ohanyan gave it the whole back cover of this board. Inside, the same star repeats twenty-four times as the points of the game. A nardy board from the tea house, made in Armenia, decorated the way Uzbekistan decorates.

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 Lasts Generations

For an Uzbek wedding, a jubilee, a diplomat's posting, a business partner in Tashkent or the friend who learned nardy in a chaikhana and never lost the habit, a hand-carved luxury wooden backgammon set with the coat of arms of Uzbekistan on the cover and on every checker is the backgammon gift set that needs no card. We send it for Navruz in March and for Independence Day on 1 September. It gets opened, played and passed on.