The inlay technique of marquetry
About this video
This video explains how marquetry, a wood mosaic of hundreds of small pieces, was made in the 18th century. A design was traced, perforated into a pounce pattern and transferred with graphite; wood was cut into thin veneers, stacked into packets and cut with a jigsaw so each piece was copied several times. Pieces were shaded with hot sand, assembled face down, glued to furniture and cleaned.
You'll be able to
- describe how a pounce pattern was used to copy a design.
- explain why veneers were stacked into packets before cutting.
- put the main steps of making marquetry in order.
Key words
- marquetry
- A wood mosaic made by fitting many small, separately cut pieces of wood into a design.
- pounce pattern
- A heavy paper sheet with tiny holes along the design lines, used to transfer the design by rubbing graphite through it.
- veneer
- A very thin sheet of wood, sometimes as thin as one millimeter.
- packet
- A stack of veneer sheets nailed together so several pieces can be cut at once.
Transcript
- [Voiceover] Marquetry, or wood mosaics, are made by arranging hundreds of small separately cut pieces of wood into an intricate design. The process for making marquetry began when I craftsman drew, or more often traced, a design on paper. This drawing was then secured to a sheet of heavy brown paper.
Following the lines of the drawing, the craftsman perforated the pattern. Although now made with a device similar to a sewing machine, during the 18th century, thousands of holes had to be laboriously punched by hand with a needle. This heavy sheet, called the pounce pattern, was laid on top of a sheet of white paper.
The craftsman then rubbed graphite over the surface of the perforated pattern to transfer the design to the bottom sheet. The design could be reproduced several times using this method. The wood was then sliced into thin sheets called veneers. In the 1700s, skilled artisans using a cumbersome hand-held saw, could cut veneer as thin as one millimeter.
Elaborate marquetry designs required dozens of types of wood, some chosen for their natural color, some for the interesting patterns in their grain. Others were dyed to produce vivid colors. Copies of the design were carefully carved into petals, leaves, and other elements.
These small paper patterns were used as guides for cutting the veneer into hundreds of individual pieces. Multiple sheets of veneer were then nailed together into packets. Then, using animal glue, the patterns for the leaves and petals were affixed to the veneer packet.
Having secured the packet in a special vice and cutting frame, the craftsman cut out the individual pieces using a jigsaw. This allowed him to make multiple copies of each piece. Hot sand was then poured over certain pieces to burn shadows, creating a sense of depth and movement in the composition.
The numerous pieces were now ready to be assembled into the final design. Once the background had been cut out, it was glued onto another copy of the design. Each piece was laid face down. When all the pieces had been put together, the craftsman was ready to flip the assembled marquetry, and glue it to a piece of furniture.
The supporting paper design was then removed, and the surface was cleaned. The marquetry was now complete and ready to decorate an object, like this writing and toilette table.
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