Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Eternity Sign in Deep Relief

Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Eternity Sign in Deep Relief, by Hrachya Ohanyan

A wheel of light on a bed of shadow. At the centre of the cover, inside a round frame ringed with rope and beads, master Hrachya Ohanyan carved the Armenian eternity sign in deep relief — slender curved blades fanning out from the middle, each one rounded and polished so it takes the light, all of them standing off a stippled ground that stays in shadow. That is the trick of this board: the blades are bright, the ground beneath them is dark and hammered, and the sign reads from across the room at any angle. Around the frame runs a field of fine carved lattice between lobed panels edged in rope and beads, inside a wide carved border with stepped rims, and the whole board is stained a warm honey brown. A handmade Armenian backgammon set hand-carved from a single piece of beech at the full 23.6″ / 60 cm — the classic straight board, with no plain surface left on the cover.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the 23.6″ / 60 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens on a carved wheel ornament in a scrolled ring at the heart of each half, pale points tipped with fleur-de-lys flourishes and an ornate bronze hinge on the centre bar. Thirty-two checkers in light and dark wood, a dice set and the branded carrying case come with it. This is the handmade backgammon board for the collector who looks at the ground before the figure, the living room where the board stays out on the table and the father who taught everyone in the house to play.

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: the Armenian eternity sign (arevakhach) carved in deep relief — slender curved blades on a stippled ground inside a round frame ringed with rope and beads; carved lattice field, lobed panels with rope-and-bead edges, wide carved border; wheel ornaments and fleur-de-lys points inside
• Outline: classic, with carved stepped edges
• Hardware: cast-bronze hinges and clasps
• Handmade in Armenia by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Backgammon board with bronze hinges and clasps
• 32 checkers made from beech and walnut wood, with velvet bases
• Dice set
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• Blades over shadow: every slender blade of the sign is cut and rounded by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop, and the stippled ground beneath keeps the shadow — so the wheel stands out in flat daylight and under a lamp alike, and no two boards come out the same.
• Carved to the edge: lattice field, lobed panels edged in rope and beads, a wide carved border and stepped rims — the classic straight board, and not an inch of the cover left plain.
• Ready for the table: full-size 23.6″ / 60 cm board, 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 eternity sign and the stippled ground beneath it, the lattice, the rope and beaded borders and the wheel ornaments inside are all cut into the wood by hand, not printed or pressed. 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 Wheel and the Ground

Relief carving works by contrast. The masters who cut the old khachkars knew it: they lowered the stone around the cross and roughened it, so the polished parts would catch the sun and the ground would hold the shade, and the cross would read from the far side of the churchyard. Master Ohanyan does the same in beech. The ground inside the round frame is punched into a fine stipple, the blades of the eternity sign are cut high and rounded off, and the sign — arevakhach, the sun-cross, older than the Armenian alphabet, meaning life going round and nothing ending — turns in the light the way it was always meant to. On a nardi board it is the most Armenian thing you can put on a table without saying a word.

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 a wedding, a big birthday, a new home or the daughter who moved abroad and misses Sunday nardi, a hand-carved Armenian backgammon set with the eternity sign on the lid is the backgammon gift set that means something before the first roll. We send it at Christmas, on 21 September and to Armenians far from home. It gets opened, played and passed on.