Ararat and Two Churches Armenian Backgammon Set with Handle

Ararat and Two Churches Armenian Backgammon Set with Handle — Handmade in Armenia

Ararat holds the middle of this Armenian backgammon set, both peaks cut in pale wood above two poplars and a rolling plain inside a rope-bordered roundel. To the left an oval holds a domed church standing over an arcade of three arches; to the right a second oval holds a round church with arched windows in its drum. Leaf scrolls join the three frames over a stippled ground, a lattice fills the corners and a cut-out carry handle passes through the top edge of each half. 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″ open, 30 × 60 cm folded, handmade in Armenia.

The back of the wooden backgammon board has no scene at all: a chequered panel of pale and dark squares, a flower cut into each of the pale ones, and a leaf scroll carved at either end.

Inside are two maps in pale wood inlay — historic Armenia in one half, the Republic with Artsakh in the other, provinces lettered in Armenian — with arrow-tipped points either side, grips cut into the rails and a dice recess in each corner. Thirty-two wooden checkers and a pair of dice are included.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, dark stained with pale wood inlays, brass hinges and clasps
• Carving: Ararat with pale-wood peaks in a central roundel between a domed church over an arcade and a round church in ovals, leaf scrolls, lattice corners; chequered panel with flower squares between scrolls on the other face
• Checkers: 32 wooden checkers, beech and walnut; dice
• Carry handle: cut-out grip through the top edge of both halves
• Inside: pale inlaid points with arrow tips and two inlaid maps of Armenia lettered in Armenian; side grips and corner dice recesses
• Hardware: brass hinges and two side clasps
• Craftsmanship: handmade in Armenia

What's Included

• Folding beech backgammon board with carry handle
• 32 wooden checkers, beech and walnut
• Dice

Why You'll Love It

• Two churches, two shapes: a domed church on an arcade in one oval, a round church in the other.
• Snow in pale wood: the summits of Ararat are a lighter inlay that stands off the dark stained plain.
• Maps under the checkers: historic Armenia and today's Republic inlaid in pale wood, one in each half.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Which monasteries are they? Neither is lettered, so we describe rather than name them: the left oval shows a domed church raised on a three-arched arcade, the right a round church with arched openings in its drum. The mountain and churches are relief over stippling; the maps and points inside are pale wood inlays.

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? Brush the carving with a soft dry brush and wipe the flat surfaces with a dry cloth. Keep the board out of direct sun and store it closed with the checkers inside.

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