Armenian Backgammon Set - Eternity Sign on a Disc, Contour Outline

Armenian Backgammon Set - Eternity Sign on a Disc, Contour Outline, by Hrachya Ohanyan

The sign drawn, the board shaped. This is the contour outline — sides that curve in and out in scallops, a cusped arch along the top, stepped rims under your hand — and at the heart of the cover a smooth raised disc sits inside a round frame ringed with rope and beads. Across the disc master Hrachya Ohanyan cut the Armenian eternity sign in fine clean lines: the curved blades turning out from the centre, each one a groove that catches the light and lets it go as the board moves, the polished wood between them doing the rest. A field of fine carved lattice fills the cover between lobed panels edged in rope and beads, and the whole board is stained a warm honey brown. A handmade Armenian backgammon set from a single piece of beech at the full 23.6″ / 60 cm — the oldest Armenian symbol, drawn in a single stroke, on a board cut to a shape of its own.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the 23.6″ / 60 cm 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 friend who likes the sign quiet rather than loud, the office shelf that needs one Armenian thing on it and the family that plays nardi on the balcony every summer evening.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, made from one piece, stained honey brown and varnished
• Motif: the Armenian eternity sign (arevakhach) cut in fine lines into a smooth raised disc inside a round frame ringed with rope and beads; carved lattice field, lobed panels with rope-and-bead edges; wheel ornaments and fleur-de-lys points inside
• Outline: contour — scalloped sides and a cusped top edge, with carved stepped rims
• 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

• The sign in one clean stroke: cut in fine lines into a smooth polished disc in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop, the eternity sign reads by line and light rather than depth — quiet, exact, and no two boards come out the same.
• Shaped, not boxed: the scalloped sides and cusped top are cut into the wood itself, so closed on a shelf the board reads as a carving before it reads as a game.
• 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 eternity sign carved? Yes — but differently from the frame. The sign is cut in fine lines into a smooth raised disc, so it reads by line and light rather than depth. The lattice field, the rope and beaded borders, the contour edges and the wheel ornaments inside are carved by hand in relief. 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.

Arevakhach, Drawn in Line

Before anyone carved the Armenian eternity sign in relief, they drew it. The oldest ones are lines scratched into rock in the Syunik highlands, then lines cut into the stone of Bronze Age tombs, and only later the deep-carved wheels on the khachkars and church gables. The sign has always meant the same thing — life going round, the sun coming back, nothing ending — and it never needed depth to say it. Master Ohanyan cuts it here the oldest way, as a line on a smooth ground, and lets the polished disc and the light do what the carver's chisel would otherwise do. 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 new home, a graduation or the friend who wears the sign on a ring, a handmade Armenian backgammon set with the eternity sign on the cover is the backgammon gift set that says what the sign says. We send it at Christmas, on 21 September and to Armenians far from home. It gets opened, played and passed on.