Octagram Backgammon Set with Star Lattice

Octagram Backgammon Set with Star Lattice by Hrachya Ohanyan

One big eight-point star in sharp facets, set in a rope ring on a lid worked edge to edge into a lattice of tiny stars, the rim scrolled and scalloped. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, contour outline. Handmade in beech, with 32 wooden checkers, dice and a carrying bag.

This is the board for the player who wants pattern without a picture and a shape without a frame. The star is eight lozenges meeting at a point, each split down its length so one face takes the light and the other the shade; around it the whole cover is cut into a fine lattice of six-point stars, held in a lobed cartouche of rope line, with a rope-and-bead ring round the star and another along the wavy edge, shoulder to curled corner.

Open, a walnut-brown field with pale drop-tipped points, an eight-point star drawn on each half and a cast hinge on the bar; the back cover carries a small octagram disc at either end. For the flat with no clutter, the geometry teacher, and the player who wants the shape of the board to be the ornament.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, stained walnut brown and varnished
• Carving: eight-point octagram in faceted relief inside a rope-and-bead ring; fine star lattice across the lid inside a lobed rope cartouche; rope borders along the scrolled edge; two small octagram discs on the back
• Outline: Contour — scrolled edges with swelling shoulders and curled corners
• Hardware: cast-bronze hinges and clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Hand-carved backgammon board
• 32 beech and walnut checkers
• Dice set
• Black carrying bag

Why You'll Love It

• Facets that turn: each ray of the star is two faces meeting at a crest, so the octagram changes as you walk past it — bright on one side, dark on the other.
• Stars under the star: the ground is a lattice of tiny six-point stars cut edge to edge, so the lid has texture everywhere the big star is not.
• Make it theirs: add a name or a date at checkout to mark a birthday, a retirement or years of games together.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the star carved? Yes. The octagram is carved in faceted relief from the beech, each ray cut as two flat faces meeting at a ridge, and the lattice of tiny stars around it is cut into the lid inside the rope borders. The small octagrams on the back are carved the same way. Stain and varnish come last; nothing is printed, cast or applied.

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 policy.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store it closed in its carrying bag.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine woodcraft in 1985 and founded his workshop in Yerevan in 2010. This board belongs to his collection of wooden backgammon sets, each one made by hand by the craftspeople of that workshop. Read Hrachya Ohanyan's story or explore the full backgammon collection.

Also known as nardi (нарды), nardy, tavla or shesh besh.