Luxury Yarkhushta Walnut Backgammon Set with Eternity Sign Checkers

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

The war dance of Sassoun with the pieces to match: Yarkhushta dancers in deep relief — arms up, a drummer, a fortress behind — under Ararat's carved peaks, and a cast eternity sign on every checker. 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 already knows the dance board and wants the set finished — the same walnut lid, with the maker's own metal-set pieces in the box. Across the cover the men of Sassoun dance in a line, arms flung up, cloaks cut in shaggy strands, a dhol and a zurna at one end, a seated elder at the other, a fortress wall behind; the ground is cross-hatched, the border rope and bead, and Ararat's peaks rise along the top, snow ridges cut rough.

Inside, pale hornbeam is let into the walnut for the points and the petal-wheel discs, and a stamped brass hinge holds the bar; the back is a chequerboard of carved basket-weave squares between acanthus scrolls. The checkers carry the difference: a cast eternity sign set into each face, bronze-toned on walnut, silver on beech. For the Sassountsi patriarch's seventieth, and the player who wants nothing on the table left plain.

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: the Yarkhushta, the war dance of Sassoun, in deep relief across the whole cover — a line of dancers with arms raised in shaggy fleece cloaks, a dhol drummer and a zurna piper, a seated elder with a staff, a crowd and a fortress wall behind — on a hand cross-hatched ground inside rope-and-bead and scalloped 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 with fleur-de-lys tips 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

• A whole dance on one lid: a dozen figures carved separately — dancers, drummer, piper, the elder on his rock — so the cover reads as a scene with a front row and a crowd behind.
• The maker's pieces, included: the eternity-sign checkers are sold on their own as a set; here they come in the box, so board and pieces match from the first game.
• 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

How is this different from the plain Yarkhushta board? Only the checkers. The board is the same: the dance of Sassoun carved in deep relief into walnut under the peaks of Ararat, hornbeam let into the points inside, natural beeswax over the lot. What changes is the pieces — instead of plain discs, each beech or walnut checker carries a cast metal eternity sign set into its top, the maker's own piece set that is otherwise sold separately. 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.