Tiger Face Backgammon Set with Bird and Lion Scrolls

Tiger Face Backgammon Set with Bird and Lion Scrolls — Handmade in Armenia

A tiger looks straight out of the roundel at the centre of this carved backgammon set, its stripes, brow and open mouth drawn in clean incised lines over a stippled ground. On either side a panel of leaf scrolls holds a perched bird at the top, a small flower disc and a lion at the bottom, 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.

Flip the wooden backgammon board and the birds and lions are back: two more scroll panels of the same design flank a chequered panel whose dark squares each hold a small carved knot.

The playing surface is plainer — teardrop points incised with round tips, a whorl cut into the middle of each half, grips cut into the rails and a dice recess in every corner. Thirty-two wooden checkers and a pair of dice come with the board.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, dark stained, brass hinges and clasps
• Carving: tiger face in a stippled roundel between two leaf-scroll panels with a bird, flower disc and lion; chequered panel with knot squares between two matching scroll panels 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: incised teardrop points with round tips and a whorl at the centre of each half; 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

• A face, drawn in line: the tiger is cut as bold incised strokes, so it reads like an ink drawing on wood.
• Birds and lions at the corners: two scroll panels on this face, two more on the chequered face.
• Scrollwork with a ground: every leaf stands over fine stippling, so the pattern keeps its edges.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the whole tiger carved? Only the head — a frontal face filling the roundel, not a body with stripes and muscle as the old listing said. The birds and lions in the scroll panels were never mentioned either. Everything is relief and line carving in stained beech; there are no inlays on this board.

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.