Inlay

Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. A great range of materials have been used both for the base or matrix and for the inlays inserted into it. Inlay is commonly used in the production of decorative furniture, where pieces of coloured wood, precious metals or even diamonds are inserted into the surface of the carcass using various matrices including clearcoats and varnishes. Lutherie inlays are frequently used as decoration and marking on musical instruments, particularly the smaller strings.Pre-Dynastic Egyptian bone figure with eyes inlaid in lapis lazuli; inlaid eyes are found in sculpture from many periodsDecaying wood inlay on a chest in a Greek monastery.Ding bronze vessel with gold and silver inlay (Damascening) from the Warring States period (403-221 BC) of ancient China. (c. 300 BC)Egyptian bone plaque of a putto, with wax inlay, 4th centuryGeometric figure (1537) in wood intarsia by Fra Damiano da Bergamo, Bologna, ItalyParchin kara (pietra dura) in stone on the Taj MahalNubian wooden box with inlaid ivory, Royal Ontario Museum, TorontoMarquetry casket, Ottoman Empire (Istanbul or North Africa), 17th-18th century, wood, tortoise shell, bone, ivory Inlay.J. Paul Getty Museum: André-Charles Boulle 1710 Boulle Work inlayThe J. Paul Getty Museum. André-Charles Boulle 1675-1680; Boulle Work inlay Paris, France.J. Paul Getty Museum André-Charles Boulle Boulle Work inlayJ. Paul Getty Museum : André-Charles Boulle, Boulle Work inlay tortoiseshell, brass, ebony;Commode André-Charles Boulle, son of Jean Boulle: (ca. 1710–20). Boulle Work brass, tortoiseshell Inlay.Bidriware cup and lid, ca 1850 V&A Museum.Japanese netsuke in ivory with ink; the eyes are inlaid in shell. 19th centuryEgyptian basin with silver inlay (Walters Art Museum)Japanese lacquerware Photograph Album Cover with ivory inlay, 1865Japanese: late 19th century, wood with ivory, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl inlays; manjū typeGyerim-ro dagger and sheath, probably originating from the Black Sea region and discovered in a tomb from Silla Kingdom (ca.57 BCE – 935 CE), South Korea. Gyeongju National Museum, Gyeongju. Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. A great range of materials have been used both for the base or matrix and for the inlays inserted into it. Inlay is commonly used in the production of decorative furniture, where pieces of coloured wood, precious metals or even diamonds are inserted into the surface of the carcass using various matrices including clearcoats and varnishes. Lutherie inlays are frequently used as decoration and marking on musical instruments, particularly the smaller strings. Perhaps the most famous example of furniture inlay is that of Andre-Charles Boulle (11 November 1642 – 28 February 1732) which is known as Boulle Work and evolved in part from inlay produced in Italy during the late 15th century at the Studiolo for Federico da Montefeltro in his Ducal Palace at Urbino, in which trompe-l'oeil shelving seems to carry books, papers, curios and mathematical instruments, in eye-deceiving perspective. The similar private study made for him at Gubbio is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl, horn or ivory may also be used. Pietre dure, or coloured stones inlaid in white or black marbles, and inlays of precious metals in a base metal matrix are other forms of inlay. Master craftsmen who make custom knives continue a tradition of ancient techniques of inlaying precious metals; additionally, many new techniques which use contemporary tools have also been developed and utilized as well by artisans. Intarsia inlay in wood furniture differs from marquetry, a similar technique that largely replaced it in high-style European furniture during the 17th century, in that marquetry is an assembly of veneers applied over the entire surface of an object, whereas inlay consists of small pieces inserted on the bed of cut spaces in the base material, of which most remains visible. The history of inlay is very old but it is still evolving alongside new technologies and new materials being discovered today. The technique of metal in metal inlay was sophisticated and accomplished in ancient China as shown in examples of vessels decorated with precious metals including this ding vessel (pictured) with gold and silver inlay from the Warring States period (403-221 BC). The French cabinet maker Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) specialised in furniture using inlays or metal and either wood or tortoiseshell together, the latter acting as the background. This type of inlay is known as 'Boulle Work'. After learning the skill of smithing from the Navaho in 1872, the Zuni silversmiths cut small chips from crystals and gemstones, pearl shell and coral, to make inlay designs in a base of silver. In 1990, Vivienne Westwood was inspired by Boulle Work, the inlay of precious metals into or onto wood to create a collection with inlay in the manner of André-Charles Boulle. In 2016, a subsidiary company of Jean-Raymond Boulle discovered and has filed a patent for a new type of diamond inlay in keeping with Boulle Work, subsequently produced by AkzoNobel for application on cars, planes and yachts.