Armenian Backgammon Set - Jraber Carpet

Armenian Backgammon Set - Jraber Carpet, by Hrachya Ohanyan

The whole lid is a karpet — Armenia's flat-woven rug — laid out in wood. A diagonal lattice of stepped diamonds in pale wood runs across the field, each one holding a handful of small dark squares like the pips on a die, linked to the next by dark hooked bands; a zigzag border of hooked horns runs round the edge. In one corner a small cartouche reads Կարպետ Ջրաբեր Հայաստան — Karpet Jraber Armenia — the village in Kotayk whose weavers the design comes from. Master Hrachya Ohanyan works the pattern into the surface in two tones, pale wood against a deep chestnut stain, so it reads like weave rather than paint. A handmade Armenian backgammon set at the full 23.6″ / 60 cm, in the classic square outline with a moulded rim.

Undo the cast-bronze clasps and the same karpet geometry continues inside: a stepped diamond with a star at its heart in the middle of each half, points drawn as chains of small diamonds that taper toward the bar, a carved scalloped frame round the field and a bronze hinge plate 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 house with a karpet on the wall, the summer table up in Kotayk, and the friend abroad who wants Armenia on the table rather than on a shelf.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, stained deep chestnut brown and varnished
• Motif: a Jraber karpet (Armenian flat-woven rug) — a diagonal lattice of stepped diamonds in pale wood with small dark squares inside, linked by hooked bands, within a zigzag border of hooked horns; the cartouche Karpet Jraber Armenia in the corner; stepped diamond ornaments and diamond-chain points inside
• Outline: Classic — the plain square frame with a moulded rim
• 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

• A karpet in wood: the stepped diamonds, hooked bands and horn border of a Jraber flatweave, worked into the surface in two tones by the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop — and no two boards the same.
• Named on the lid: Karpet Jraber Armenia, in Armenian and Latin letters in the corner cartouche — the design says where it comes from before you do.
• Ready for the table: full-size 23.6″ / 60 cm board, checkers in light and dark wood, a dice set 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 pattern printed? No. The diamonds, hooked bands and lettering are worked into the wood in two tones — the pale wood left light where the pattern is light, the ground stained deep brown around it — and sealed under the varnish, so nothing can rub or peel off. The moulded rim, the scalloped frame inside and the points are cut into the wood by hand. The colour is a stain, not paint.

Is this the same as the Lori carpet boards? No. The Lori boards follow a knotted pile carpet with one big lozenge in the middle; this lid follows a flat-woven karpet from Jraber — an all-over lattice of small stepped diamonds in two tones. Same size, same workshop, a different rug.

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.

Karpet, Not Gorg

In Armenian a gorg is the knotted pile carpet and a karpet is the flatweave — no pile at all, the pattern made by the coloured wefts themselves. That is why a karpet cannot draw a curve: every diamond has steps, every hook is a right angle, and the whole design is built from the little squares the weave allows. Jraber, a village in Kotayk on the road north from Yerevan toward Sevan, is one of the places these were woven for the floor, the wall and the dowry chest, and the lid names it in the corner. The workshop kept the geometry honest — steps, hooks, small squares — and let the wood do the colour work: pale where the wool would be undyed, dark where it would be dyed. The old catalogue called this pattern Memling, after the Flemish painter who put rugs like it under the feet of his Madonnas; the weavers of Jraber never heard of him.

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 in Kotayk, a housewarming, a grandmother who still has her karpet on the wall, or the friend who collects Caucasian flatweaves, an Armenian backgammon set with a Jraber karpet on the lid is the backgammon gift set with a village name on it. We send it at Christmas, on 21 September and for Father's Day. It gets opened, played and handed down.