Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Geghard Monastery in Dark Wood

Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Geghard Monastery in Dark Wood, by Hrachya Ohanyan

Geghard in the dark, on a ground like tooled leather. Inside a round frame ringed with rope at the centre of the cover, master Hrachya Ohanyan carved Geghard Monastery in relief — the main church with its conical dome, the gavit and the walls beside it, the paved path leading up to the door — and under the steps a small carved plaque spells its name, ԳԵՂԱՐԴ, in Armenian letters. Everything else on the cover, from the frame out to the lobed panels and the stepped rims, is punched by hand into a fine, even stipple, so the board has the texture of tooled leather and the monastery sits on a ground that keeps the shadow. The whole board is stained a deep walnut 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 the monastery of the spear on the lid.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the 23.6″ / 60 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens on a carved pomegranate with its leaves at the heart of each half — the fruit of the Armenian table — with pale points tipped with fleur-de-lys flourishes and bronze hinges 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 family that lights a candle at Geghard every summer, the study with the dark shelves, and the friend who wants the church and the pomegranate in one box.

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 deep walnut brown and varnished
• Motif: Geghard Monastery carved in relief — domed church, gavit, walls and paved path — with a carved ԳԵՂԱՐԴ name plaque, inside a round rope-ringed frame on a fully stippled cover; lobed panels with rope edges; carved pomegranates 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

• Stone in wood, in the dark: the dome, the gavit, the walls and the paved path are carved in relief by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop, and the dark stain makes every edge read — and no two boards come out the same.
• Tooled to the edge: the whole cover outside the carving is punched into a fine stipple by hand, so the board feels like tooled leather and the monastery sits on a ground that holds the shadow.
• Ready for the table: full-size 23.6″ / 60 cm board with carved pomegranates inside, 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 monastery, the name plaque, the stippled ground, the rope borders and the pomegranates inside are all cut into the wood by hand, not printed or pressed. The dark 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.

Geghard, the Monastery of the Spear

Walk through the main church at Geghard and into the rock, and the light changes. In the 1240s the princes of the Prosh family had chapels hollowed straight out of the mountain — walls, columns and domes all cut from one piece of living stone, and a spring still running through the floor of the first chamber. Stand in the middle and sing one note, and the room sings it back for ten seconds. The monastery began in the fourth century as Ayrivank, the monastery of the cave, founded by Gregory the Illuminator; it took its later name from the spear that pierced Christ, kept here for centuries before it went to Etchmiadzin. It has been on the UNESCO list since 2000. Master Ohanyan carves the church and its paved approach in dark beech, signs it with its name, and puts a pomegranate inside for the table. On a nardi board it is the place Armenians go to when they want to feel the country under their feet, closed, on a shelf.

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 christening, a name day, a wedding blessed at Geghard or the friend who has stood in the rock chamber while somebody sang, a hand-carved Armenian backgammon set with the monastery on the lid and pomegranates inside is the backgammon gift set that says church and table in one breath. We send it at Christmas, on 21 September and to Armenians far from home. It gets opened, played and passed on.