Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix.[ Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts, 1975, s.v. "Inlay", "Wood-working (Special Techniques)".] 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 colored wood, precious metals or even diamonds are inserted into the surface of the carcass using various matrices including clear coats 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 André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732) 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 Urbino, in which trompe-l'œil 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.
Inlay in wood
In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use
, but other materials like
Exoskeleton,
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 craftspeople 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,[John Fleming and Hugh Honour, The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts (1977) s.v. "Inlay".] 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.
Inlay on metals
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 André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) specialized 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 Silversmith from the Navajo people 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 Boulle.
In 2016, a subsidiary company of Jean-Raymond Boulle discovered and has filed a patent
Inlay in stone
The natives of
Kerma culture () developed techniques for architectural inlays and glazed quartzite.
[W SS, 'Glazed Faience Tiles found at Kerma in the Sudan,' Museum of the Fine Arts, Vol.LX:322, Boston 1962, p. 136][Peter Lacovara, 'Nubian Faience', in ed. Florence D Friendman, Gifts of the Nile – Ancient Egyptian Faience, London: Thames & Hudson, 1998, 46–49)]
Pietra dura is the usual term in Europe for detailed inlays in contrasting colours of stones, including many semi-precious types;
parchin kari is an Indian term. Pietra dura developed from the Roman
opus sectile, which was typically used on a larger scale, especially in floors.
Cosmatesque work on walls and floors, and smaller objects, was a medieval intermediate stage, continuing ancient opus alexandrinum.
Inlaid artifacts have come down to us from the Ancient Mayan civilization, among them, jade, mother of pearl and onyx inlaid into stone during the era that arts reached a peak during the seven centuries from 200 to 900 AD.
Angie Reano Owen, a Kewa Pueblo artist from New Mexico revived prehistoric Hohokam and Anasazi traditional designs in the 1970s with a new technique to inlay stone and shell mosaic jewelry. Her work has been collected by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the National Museum of the American Indian and the American Museum of Natural History.
Inlay on fabrics
Vivienne Westwood created her Portrait Collection based on the furniture of André-Charles Boulle.
Inlay in painting
Kaloust Guedel Introduced the inlay technique into contemporary painting as a philosophical concept.
In knitting,
roositud is an inlay technique found in Estonian knitting.
Gallery
File:Naqada I bone figure.jpg|Pre-Dynastic Egyptian bone figure with eyes inlaid in lapis lazuli; inlaid eyes are found in sculptures from many periods
File:Inlay work.jpg|Decaying wood inlay on a chest in a Greek monastery.
File:Warring States bronze ding with gold and silver inlay.JPG|Ding porcelain bronze vessel with gold and silver inlay (damascening) from the Warring States period (403–221 BC) of ancient China ()
File:Egyptian - Putto - Walters 7125.jpg|Egyptian bone plaque of a putto, with wax inlay, 4th century
File:San Domenico55.jpg|Geometric figure (1537) in wood intarsia by Fra Damiano da Bergamo, Bologna, Italy
File:Artwork done on the Taj inlaid with semi precious stones.JPG| Parchin kara (pietra dura) in stone on the Taj Mahal
File:Front panel of decorated wooden box, wood with ivory inlay, Gebel Adda, 300-400 AD - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09790.JPG| wooden box with inlaid ivory, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
File:Marquetry casket, Ottoman Empire (Istanbul or North Africa), 17th-18th century, wood, tortoise shell, bone, ivory inlay - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04772.JPG|Marquetry casket, Ottoman Empire (Istanbul or North Africa), 17th–18th century, wood, tortoise shell, bone, ivory inlay.
File:Getty Museum Wall Clock André-Charles Boulle.jpg|J. Paul Getty Museum: André-Charles Boulle, 1710, Boulle work inlay
File:A cabinet-on-stand attributed to André-Charles Boulle at the Getty Museum.jpg|The J. Paul Getty Museum. André-Charles Boulle, 1675–1680; Boulle work inlay, Paris, France.
File:Getty Museum Attributed to André-Charles Boulle 1642 - 1732.jpg|J. Paul Getty Museum, André-Charles Boulle, Boulle work inlay
File:André-Charles Boulle, Movement maker Paul Gudin.jpg|alt=J. Paul Getty Museum : André-Charles Boulle, Boulle work inlay tortoiseshell, brass, ebony;|J. Paul Getty Museum : André-Charles Boulle, Boulle work inlay tortoiseshell, brass, ebony
File:Commode MET DT8915.jpg|Commode André-Charles Boulle, son of Jean Boulle (). Boulle work brass, tortoiseshell inlay.
File:Bidriware cup and lid, ca 1850 V&A Museum.jpg|Bidriware cup and lid, . V&A Museum.
File:Miyasaka Hakuryu II - Tigress with Two Cubs - Walters 71909.jpg|Japanese netsuke in ivory with ink; the eyes are inlaid in shell. 19th century
File:Egyptian - Basin - Walters 54526 (2).jpg|Egyptian basin with silver inlay (Walters Art Museum)
File:Japanese Photograph Album Cover with ivory inlay LACMA M.91.377.1.jpg|Japanese lacquerware Photograph Album Cover with ivory inlay, 1865
File:Chrysanthemums and Butterfly LACMA M.87.263.36.jpg|Japanese: late 19th century, wood with ivory, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl inlays; manjū type
File:Ornamented Sword from Gyerim-ro, Gyeongju.jpg|alt=Ornamental golden dagger and sheath with glass and garnet inlays, probably originating from the Black Sea region, discovered in South Korea|Gyerim-ro dagger and sheath, probably originating from the Black Sea region and discovered in a tomb from Silla Kingdom ( – 935 CE), South Korea. Gyeongju National Museum, Gyeongju.
File:Bộ bàn ghế khảm xà cừ.jpg|Mother of pearls inlaid furniture set in An Giang Museum, Vietnam.
File:Елемент фазанника.jpg|An element of a pheasant house inlaid with bark in the Sofiyivka Park
See also
Notes
External links
