The Art of Marquetry

As may have become apparent, it is the beautiful marquetry that Ince & Mayhew produced that has had the most impact on me. I am amazed at how an image of a flower or a violin can be transformed into a flat wooden surface, using many different woods. They would have originally been painted bright colours which would have made the impact even greater.

I have had a brief look at the history of Marquetry, which goes way back in time to Ur in Mesopotamia around 2600BC. Homer mentions inlaid work of gold, silver and ivory in The Odyssey and Pliny the Elder refers to various woods cut into thin layers of veneers and also mentions the use of tortoise or turtle shell, painted to look like wood.

Marquetry was increasingly used in England with the arrival of William of Orange and Mary from Holland in 1689, via the artisans who came with them. André Charles Boulle was very important in France around that time, with much of his work being made for the palace at Versailles.

The technique used was to create a packet of different veneers which was then cut using a marquetry horse and fret saw. The different veneers would then be used to make up the patterns, creating contrasting panels, which could be repeated in reverse, using the other bits of wood. An interesting video shows how this would have been done by Chippendale. It also shows the use of hot sand to scorch the wood and so produce a three-dimensional effect.

The skill involved to create the intricate designs on some of Ince & Mayhew’s furniture is reflected in the price of it. William Ince must have had a deep understanding of the process to produce the designs he did, and would then have trained his workforce to a very high standard of craftmanship. This image is only a part of the decoration on a commode at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The detail on the bird at the foot of the column is immaculate! Underneath is a pine carcase, but it has been veneered with satinwood, kingwood, holly, rosewood and other woods to create this amazing effect.

Today I visited Tim Constable’s studio near Sevenoaks which was open for South East England Open Studios. He has two wenge veneered tables on display and a table with inlaid stripes of padouk, another wood used by Ince & Mayhew. Tim is in the process of making a large desk. It was a delight to see such craftsmanship, especially the decoration on the desk legs. He showed me the bundle of walnut veneer he has bought for the top of the desk, costing around £500. The desk when finished will cost around £5000.

Image in the Public Domain. Commode is owned by the Metropolitan Museum, Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964