Knowledge center · Workshop techniques · Marquetry
Technique
Marquetry
Gluing pieces of veneer in different colors and textures into a pattern or a picture on a flat surface — a decorative woodworking technique that reached a peak in Paris in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Marquetry assembles a picture or a pattern from several veneers of different tone and texture, cut precisely with a fret saw or by hand and glued together onto a ground. Unlike intarsia, in which recesses are cut into solid wood and filled with another material, marquetry is one complete flat layer of veneer. The packet method cuts several identical copies at once from a stack of veneers. After assembly the surface is leveled and polished, and it is often finished in French polish. It decorates cabinets, tables, and jewel boxes of the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods.
Related
Marquetry
Pictures and patterns made from pieces of veneer in different tones, assembled like a puzzle across the surface of the furniture.
Intarsia
Inlaying pieces of wood into a solid-wood surface — set into the thickness, not applied as a facing. An older technique, and a more expensive one than marquetry.
Veneering
Gluing a thin layer of precious wood (veneer) onto a cheaper or more stable ground — it gives the look of an exotic wood at a lower cost, and often more structural stability than solid wood.
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