Luxury Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Mount Ararat in Basket Weave

Luxury Armenian Backgammon Set Hand Carved - Mount Ararat in Basket Weave, by Hrachya Ohanyan

The whole lid of this luxury Armenian backgammon set is woven — wood strips carved to pass over and under each other like a basket — with Ararat in a round window at the centre. 60 cm across (23.6″), chestnut-stained beech, by master Hrachya Ohanyan; 32 checkers, dice and a case supplied.

Inside the rope-and-bead ring the two peaks stand with bare-wood snow under a pair of carved clouds, a road of stones climbs from the corner, rays of sun sweep across the plain and a wheat ear rises in front — the workshop's Ararat landscape, cut in relief. Everything around it is basket weave: broad strips carved in relief to run over and under one another across the entire lid, held by rope borders with acanthus leaves in the corners and a moulded rim, and the weave continues on the back cover around two eternity whirls in round frames. Inside, each half carries a wheel ornament in a scrolled ring, points in pale and dark wood tipped with fleur-de-lys, and an ornate bronze hinge. For the hand that likes to touch things — the study, and the man who picks a board up before he opens it. Also known as nardi (нарды), nardy, tavla or shesh besh.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, stained chestnut and varnished
• Motif: Mount Ararat with clouds, a stone road, sun rays and a wheat ear in relief inside a rope-and-bead ring, set in a lid of carved basket weave with acanthus corners; weave and eternity whirls on the back
• Outline: Classic — the 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

• Carved to feel woven: the basket weave is relief work over the whole lid and the back — every strip cut by hand in the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop, no two boards the same.
• The mountain in a window: Ararat, road, sun and wheat sit in a round ring like a view through a wall of wicker — the busiest lid in the range around the calmest scene.
• Make it theirs: add a name or a date at checkout and it becomes a personalized backgammon set.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the carving real? All of it. The weave is not a pattern pressed into the surface — each strip is carved to rise where it passes over and dip where it passes under, across both covers. The mountain, road, clouds, rays and wheat ear are relief inside the ring, and the sky is stippled by hand. Nothing is printed; the colour is a stain 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.

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.

Wicker in Wood

Armenian villages have woven baskets, fences and bread trays from willow for as long as they have baked bread, and the carvers of the Ohanyan workshop took the pattern straight from the village: over, under, over, under, until the lid looks like something a grandmother would carry grapes in. Setting the mountain into it was the joke and the point — the most permanent thing in the country, framed by the most everyday.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine wood craft in 1985 and founded his workshop in Yerevan in 2010. Every board passes through 14 stages of production and 14 pairs of hands before it is finished. Read the story of master Hrachya Ohanyan or explore the full Hrachya Ohanyan backgammon collection.

A Gift That Lasts

The one for a wedding where both families will be at the table, a golden anniversary, or a friend who runs his hand over furniture in shops — it is impossible to put down.