Luxury Walnut Backgammon Set - Geghard and Grapevines

Luxury Walnut Backgammon Set - Geghard and Grapevines

Geghard means spear. The monastery took its name from the Holy Lance that was kept there for centuries, which makes it the fiercest name in Armenian Christianity — and the carver of this luxury walnut backgammon set has wrapped it in grapevines. Trailing vines and heavy grape clusters run right around the carved facade, cut deep into the walnut, softening a building that was quite literally hacked out of the side of a mountain.

That contradiction is very Armenian and completely deliberate. The monastery is half masonry, half living rock; the vines are the gentlest thing anyone could put around it; and both belong to the same gorge, where the church and the vineyards have shared a valley for a very long time. Open the clasps, let the bronze hinges swing back, and the full 23.6" / 60 cm playing field is there — walnut giving the whole board that deep, unhurried colour it only gets with age and good carving. Lift it by the cut-out handle and it comes to whichever table the evening is happening at.

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 walnut, with bronze hinges and clasps
• Handmade in Armenia

Why It Stands Out

• The Geghard Monastery carved by hand in deep relief into solid walnut
• Trailing grapevines and grape clusters cut right around it
• Folds shut on bronze hinges and travels by its own cut-out carry handle
• A luxury Armenian backgammon board in the wood the workshop saves for its best work

A Gift With Both Sides of Armenia On It

The spear and the vine, the mountain and the harvest — give it to someone who understands that those have never been opposites. Then pour something red, because the board is already suggesting it.