Luxury Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Hayastan Khor Virap in Deep Relief

Luxury Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Hayastan Khor Virap in Deep Relief, by Hrachya Ohanyan

Everything on this lid stands up out of the wood. Khor Virap's walls and church tower, the rocks below them, the vine scroll and every letter of ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ — Hayastan — are carved in deep relief by master Hrachya Ohanyan, rising from a finely stippled ground so that the afternoon light throws real shadows along the battlements and into the curls of the script. Above the scene the twin peaks of Ararat make the outline of the board itself, their slopes cut in rough strokes and the summits left in the bare pale beech, like snow. Rope borders, scrolled corners, a deep chestnut stain under clear varnish. A luxury Armenian backgammon set hand-carved from a single piece of wood at the full 23.6″ / 60 cm — the same Khor Virap design the workshop draws in line work on its lighter boards, here cut all the way in.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the 23.6″ / 60 cm hand-carved wooden backgammon board opens on a wheel ornament in a scrolled ring at the heart of each half, points in pale and dark wood tipped with fleur-de-lys, a carved scalloped frame round the field and an ornate hinge on the centre bar. Turn it over and the back cover carries two eternity whirls in deep relief inside lattice-carved panels. Thirty-two checkers in light and dark wood, a dice set and the branded carrying case come with it. This is the luxury backgammon set for the house where Armenia is not a topic but a wall — the one that gets photographed before it gets played.

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 chestnut brown and varnished; the Ararat summits left in bare pale wood
• Motif: Khor Virap monastery on its rock, the word Hayastan (Armenia) in ornamental Armenian letters and a vine scroll, all hand-carved in deep relief on a stippled ground; the peaks of Ararat in textured relief along the top; two eternity whirls in deep relief inside lattice panels on the back cover; wheel ornaments and fleur-de-lys points inside
• Outline: Mount Ararat — the twin peaks carved in relief along the top, with scrolled corners
• 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

• Deep relief, edge to edge: walls, tower, rocks, vine and every letter cut down into the beech by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop — you read Hayastan with your fingertips, and no two boards come out the same.
• Carved on both covers: the front is the monastery under Ararat, the back two eternity whirls in lattice — there is no plain side to this board.
• 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, peaks up.

Is the carving real? Yes — all of it. The monastery, the walls, the rocks, the vine scroll and the letters of ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ are cut into the beech by hand in deep relief on a stippled ground; the peaks of Ararat along the top and the eternity whirls on the back cover are carved the same way. Nothing is printed, pressed or painted on. The chestnut colour is a stain in the wood under the varnish, and the pale summits are the bare beech left unstained.

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.

Where the Mountain Comes Closest

Khor Virap is the one place in Armenia where Ararat seems near enough to walk to. The monastery stands on a low hill at the edge of the plain, the border a few fields away, and the mountain fills everything behind it — which is why every wedding party, every returning cousin and every first-time visitor is driven there before anything else. Under the chapel is the pit where Gregory the Illuminator was kept for thirteen years before he brought the king to Christianity in 301. The workshop's carvers cut the whole view into this lid in deep relief, walls and tower and rock, with the country's name below it — and left the tips of the mountain in bare wood, the way the snow stays on Ararat all summer.

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 fiftieth birthday, a wedding in the diaspora, a house-blessing, or the father who has everything except this, a luxury Armenian backgammon set with Khor Virap and Hayastan carved in deep relief is the backgammon gift set that ends up on the wall between games. We send it at Christmas, on 21 September and on Father's Day. It gets opened, played and passed on.