Acanthus Travel Chess and Backgammon Set with Carry Handles

Acanthus Travel Chess and Backgammon Set with Carry Handles — Handmade in Armenia

Deep acanthus scrolls fill the whole frame of this travel chess and backgammon set, rolling round a cut-out carry handle at each end, with a knotwork disc inlaid in each half of the backgammon field inside. 40 × 40 cm / 15.7″ × 15.7″ open, handmade in Armenia from dark-stained beech, with pieces, checkers, dice and a bag.

This is the wooden chess set with more carving per centimetre than anything else on the shelf. The leaves are cut so deep they stand off the ground in the round, the fronds overlapping one another all the way along each side and turning the corners without a break, and the outline waves in scallops under them. The squares sit inside on a plain inlaid field with the coordinates on brass discs, and the pieces are turned in pale wood and dark.

Inside is the backgammon field: pale points on a dark ground and a four-lobed knot in pale wood at the centre of each half, the handles showing as lifting slots in the end rails. Shut, the two handles meet and the board lifts in one hand; it closes on bronze clasps and goes in the bag with the checkers and dice.

Specifications

• Size: 40 × 40 cm / 15.7″ × 15.7″
• Material: beech wood, dark-stained, with inlaid pale and brown squares and brass coordinate discs
• Carving: deep acanthus scrolls in relief over the whole frame on a stippled ground, waved edge, cut-out handle at each end; inlaid points and a four-lobed knot disc in each half inside
• Pieces: 32 turned wooden chess pieces in pale beech and dark walnut; 32 wooden backgammon checkers; pair of dice
• Folded: 20 × 40 cm / 7.9″ × 15.7″
• Carry handle: cut through each end, with lifting slots in the end rails inside
• Hardware: bronze hinges and clasps
• Craftsmanship: handmade in Armenia

What's Included

• Folding carved beech board — chess outside, backgammon inside
• 32 turned wooden chess pieces, 16 pale and 16 dark
• 32 wooden backgammon checkers and a pair of dice
• Carrying bag

Why You'll Love It

• Carved in the round: acanthus leaves that stand off the frame, not a pattern scratched into it.
• Chess out, nardi in: a plain inlaid field on top, a backgammon field with a knot disc in each half underneath.
• A case with handles: two cut through the frame, lining up when the board is shut.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the carving real? It is. Run a thumb across the frame and the leaves stand up under it — cut from the beech in deep relief, with the ground between them stippled by hand. The handles are openings in the frame itself, the coordinates are brass discs, and the squares, the points and the knot discs inside are inlaid wood rather than print.

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.