Luxury Eternity Sign Chess and Backgammon Set with Bronze Pieces

Luxury Eternity Sign Chess and Backgammon Set with Bronze Pieces — Handmade in Armenia

Sculptural scrolls roll out on either side of an eternity sign at each end of this luxury chess and backgammon set, with basket-weave panels down the sides and 32 openwork bronze pieces on the field. 50 × 50 cm / 19.6″ × 19.6″ open, handmade in Armenia from beech and stained dark, with checkers, dice and a bag.

This is the wooden chess set whose frame is more sculpture than border. The whirling sun sits in a dished disc at the centre of each end, the scrolls beside it are carved almost in the round, and the weave along the sides is cut strip over strip on a stippled ground. The coordinates sit in brass discs beside the inlaid squares, and the pieces are pierced bronze castings on turned bases, pale and dark.

Inside is the backgammon field: pale points, a sun wheel ringed with scrollwork in each half, a trough down each side for the wooden checkers, and a pair of dice. The bronze pieces come in their own satin-lined wooden box, and the whole set goes in the bag.

Specifications

• Size: 50 × 50 cm / 19.6″ × 19.6″
• Material: beech wood, dark-stained, with inlaid pale and brown squares
• Carving: eternity sign in a dished disc at each end, sculptural scrolls beside it, basket-weave panels along the sides, stippled ground, sculpted edge, brass coordinate discs; inlaid points and a scrolled sun wheel in each half inside
• Pieces: 32 openwork cast bronze chess pieces on turned wooden bases, 16 pale and 16 dark; 32 wooden backgammon checkers; pair of dice
• Folded: 25 × 50 cm / 9.8″ × 19.6″
• Hardware: bronze hinges and clasps
• Craftsmanship: handmade in Armenia

What's Included

• Folding carved beech board — chess outside, backgammon inside
• 32 cast bronze chess pieces on wooden bases, 16 pale and 16 dark, in a satin-lined wooden box
• 32 wooden backgammon checkers and a pair of dice
• Carrying bag

Why You'll Love It

• Carved almost in the round: the scrolls stand off the frame, the sun sits in a dished disc — a border with real depth.
• Two games, one metal army: chess with pierced bronze pieces on top, nardi inside with a sun wheel in each half.
• Boxed pieces: the bronze army ships in its own satin-lined wooden box.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Are the pieces solid bronze? Bronze, cast and pierced, with a gold-tone finish over darkened recesses; each piece sits on a turned wooden base, pale on one side and dark on the other, and has far more heft than a wooden piece. The board is dark-stained beech: the sun discs, scrolls and weave carved in relief, the squares and points inlaid. Nothing is printed.

What about shipping and returns? Shipping is free worldwide and tracked. 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.

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