Luxury Armenian Backgammon Table with Mount Ararat

Luxury Armenian Backgammon Table with Mount Ararat

The lid is a landscape. Ararat's twin peaks inlaid in gold-toned wood, a monastery below them, fields running out in front — all of it laid in contrasting timber rather than drawn on, and framed by carved scrollwork. Closed, on its cabriole legs, this Armenian backgammon table is simply a beautiful side table with the country's own mountain on top of it.

Open it flat and a full 23.6" / 60 cm playing field appears, inlaid in light and dark beech with carved ornaments at each end, and 32 checkers, a dice cup and dice ready to go. Every Armenian house has nardi in it somewhere; this is the version that does not have to be brought out and set up, because it is already the furniture. You pull two chairs over and start.

What's Included

• Folding backgammon table on carved cabriole legs
• 32 checkers made from beech and walnut wood
• Dice cup and dice
• Carrying bag

Specifications

• Closed: 11.8 x 23.6" / 30 x 60 cm
• Open playing field: 23.6 x 23.6" / 60 x 60 cm
• Weight: 12 kg / 26.5 lb
• Table material: solid beech wood
• Checker material: beech and walnut wood
• Handmade in Armenia

Why You'll Love It

• Mount Ararat inlaid in gold-toned wood, with the monastery and fields below
• Carved scrollwork framing the whole scene
• A real table at playing height, not a board you put on one
• Folds flat and doubles as a side table between games

Mount Ararat

Noah's mountain, visible from Yerevan every clear morning and outside the border since 1921. Armenians have carved and inlaid it onto everything they make for exactly that reason — it is not a view, it is the thing that stayed. Having it on the table the family plays nardi around is about as Armenian as an object gets.

A Gift Worth Giving

For a father, a grandfather, a house in the diaspora. Every table is finished by hand, so no two are alike — and this one arrives with its own carrying bag.