About Handcrafted Backgammon Sets

History

• The history of backgammon goes back thousands of years. It has been known as Ur, Senat and Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum. In Asia, it was known as Nard. The modern game was first played in 1928, when the doubling rule was first developed. Today, you can play backgammon on the Internet, but that sort of takes away a lot of the drama and action that you would get with a handcrafted backgammon set.

Types

• Dal Negro is an Italian manufacture of handcrafted backgammon sets. Their sets are lined with an eco-friendly synthetic leather in colors like blue and green. They also use black leather. They come in a custom case that looks like an attache case.

  Neroulia is a family company in Greece that has been making handcrafted backgammon sets for three generations. They use material like zebra wood, oak and Greek walnut. Their hand carved sets are made of solid wood with walnut and mahogany veneer and the carvings include subjects such as eagles and ancient ships.

  Bakshish Enterprises is an Indian company that has been in business since 1990. They make handcrafted backgammon sets using Indian rosewood, boxwood and rosewood veneers.

Significance

• Handcrafted backgammon sets are the antiques of tomorrow. While some are old enough to be classified as antiques already, many more are from the modern age. Backgammon is one of the most popular games in the world, being played in just about every country in one form or another. These facts make handcrafted backgammon sets very collectible.

Features

• Handcrafted backgammon sets reflect the traditions of the country they come from. Italian manufacturers lean towards rich leather with mother of pearl inlays. Sets from Greece are the ones with the most carvings. They also tend to use woods native to their country rather than imported wood.

Identification

• The set should come stamped with the manufacturers mark, but with handcrafted backgammon sets, since they are new as opposed to antique, it is a good idea to keep the receipt so that in the future, it will be easy to prove when it was made as well as by whom.