Luxurious Armenian Chess Backgammon Set with Tree of Life in Epoxy

Luxurious Armenian Chess Backgammon Set with Tree of Life in Epoxy

Roots, trunk, branches and fruit, cut into solid wood as one unbroken line and finished with hand-poured epoxy resin so the light sits in it. The Tree of Life is the oldest thing Armenians carve — it is on khachkars, on doorframes, on the front of dowry chests — and the reason it survives is that it says something simple: a family is one continuous thing, not a series of separate people. Putting it on a board where two generations sit down opposite each other is not a decorative choice.

The board itself is a proper chess backgammon set. Chess hand-carved into the outer face, a full backgammon field within, checkers and dice included, all of it 23.6" / 60 cm across in a protective case. Two complete games, neither one shrunk to make room for the other, and a playing surface wide enough that a long evening never feels cramped.

Every model from this workshop passes through fourteen separate stages and as much as two hundred days of work, a different craftsman at each. The resin pour cannot be repeated and the carving cannot be corrected, which is why no two of these boards have ever come out the same.

What's Included

• Hand-carved 2-in-1 board — chess on top, backgammon inside
• Full set of chess pieces
• Backgammon checkers and dice
• Protective case

Specifications

• Board: 23.6 x 23.6" / 60 x 60 cm
• Material: solid natural wood with epoxy resin
• Hand-carved Tree of Life
• Made in Armenia by Hrachya Ohanyan

Why You'll Love It

• The Tree of Life carved into solid wood and filled with epoxy resin
• Two games in one board: chess outside, backgammon within
• Every resin pour is unique — no two boards can be matched
• Made by the workshop of National Master Hrachya Ohanyan

The Tree of Life

Armenians have carved this tree for well over a thousand years, and always in the same way: nothing separated, everything growing out of everything else. It appears on the stone crosses that stand in fields all over the country, and it means continuity — that what is here now came from something and will become something. It is a good thing to have on the table when the family is round it.

About the Master — Hrachya Ohanyan

In 1985 National Master Ohanyan began his fine wood craft, bringing a new approach to a very old tradition. After years of that work the Hrachya Ohanyan workshop was established in 2010, making Armenian, classic and original models from high-quality raw material — each set a piece of work admired at home and well beyond it.

Fourteen Stages, Up to Two Hundred Days

Every model passes through fourteen distinct phases of production. Fourteen separate craftsmen leave their mark on one piece of wood before it reaches its finished form.

A Gift Worth Giving

A wedding, a christening, a first house. The Tree of Life is the gift Armenians give when they mean it — and this one comes with two games attached, so it gets used rather than admired from a shelf.