Armenian Backgammon Set - Coat of Arms and Etchmiadzin

Armenian Backgammon Set - Coat of Arms and Etchmiadzin

Ask most countries for their two most important images and you will get a flag and a parliament. Ask Armenia and you get a shield and a church. Both of them are hand-carved side by side on the lid of this handmade Armenian backgammon set: the national coat of arms with its quartered shield, and Etchmiadzin — the Mother See, founded in 301, among the oldest cathedrals standing anywhere on earth. Carved scrollwork runs between and around them and out to the border of the board.

It is a serious pairing for something you are going to play games on, and that is exactly why it works. Armenian houses have always kept the sacred and the everyday in the same room; the icon on the wall does not stop anyone arguing about a double five. Open the clasps, let the bronze hinges swing back, and the full 23.6" / 60 cm playing field is there underneath, ready for a long evening. Carry this carved wooden backgammon board in by its cut-out handle and set it down — whoever you are playing will look at the lid first and the dice second.

What's Included

• Backgammon board with bronze hinges, clasps and a cut-out carry handle
• 32 checkers made from beech and walnut wood
• A pair of dice and a carrying bag

Specifications

• Folded: 30 x 60 cm / 11.8 x 23.6"
• Open playing field: 60 x 60 cm / 23.6 x 23.6"
• Weight: 5 kg / 11 lb
• Wood: solid beech, with bronze hinges and clasps
• Handmade in Armenia

Why It Stands Out

• The coat of arms of Armenia and Etchmiadzin Cathedral, both carved by hand in relief
• Scrollwork tying the two together across the whole lid
• Folds shut on bronze hinges and travels by its own cut-out carry handle
• A handmade Armenian backgammon board carrying the state and the church on one piece of wood

A Gift With Weight Behind It

This is the board for a christening, a wedding, or the year somebody finally buys a house. It reads as a keepsake before it reads as a game — and then it gets opened, which is when it starts earning its place properly.