How
To Create Marquetry
Marquetry, the art of inlaying
veneers of woods or natural material onto a body of
timber, is reputed to have been used since the Egyptian
and Roman eras. It became popular in the 17th and 18th
centuries when period Cabinet Makers used the technique
to enhance the exquisite furniture created in the ‘golden
age’ of Cabinet Making.
Thin layers of timber or other materials
such as Mother Of Pearl are
intricately carved and placed flush against the surrounding
surface of the Marquetry-inlaid piece; these thin strips
of material are called veneer.
Creating A Marquetry Steam Locomotive for a Memory
Box
(Click on an image to enlarge it)
The Steam Locomotive outline has been prepared by a Wheathills
artist.
Using a fine scalpel the relevant piece is cut from
the Walnut veneer to be replaced by the Marquetry piece of,
in this instance, Dyed Lime. After a section has
been built up it is held in place with Veneer Tape
The ‘Pipe’ of the Steam
Locomotive is in situ, and note the sand-scorched technique
used to shade the front (right hand side) of the pipe. A piece of veneer
has been dipped in hot sand for a certain length of
time to achieve this effect, the longer the time left
in the hot sand the darker the appearance.
The marquetry is being laid back to front, ie the
surface you are seeing here is the reverse.
This technique is used to minimize the hairsbreadth gap between
the cutout area and the inserted piece; veneer scalpels are
thinner at the tip of the cutting blade than further up the
cutting blade (think of a V cross section), so the reverse laying reduces
any gap to the absolute minimum. After the Marquetry work has
finished the front surface is secured with Veneer Tape, reverse side has the tape removed and is attached to the surface of the Memory
Box and when secure, the tape on the now upper surface is removed.
This Exquisite
Memory Box can be viewed here, and a selection of our Marquetry Boxes here
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