Mother-of-Pearl

When we visited the Huntington Library in California we had a good feeling that we would find some beautiful artwork to inspire future Paperblanks designs. What we didn’t expect, however, was to be awestruck by a piece of furniture. But awestruck we were, and we immediately knew this striking ebony cabinet-on-stand with mother-of-pearl and gilt bronze panels would be a perfect cover design.

The cabinet that inspired our Exotic Marquetry series is actually a combination of two pieces of woodworking. The inlaid panels were taken from one piece of furniture, likely made in the late 17th-century East Indies for the European market, and the rest was crafted circa 1780 in England. The classicising restraint of the stand and cornice contrasts and highlights the exuberant, exotic design of the panels.

The 17th century is known in the furniture world as “The Age of Cabinet,” and during this time period these items were true objects of desire and status symbols for wealthy households. More than simply functional pieces of décor, the cabinets created during the Baroque period were showpieces and works of art in themselves.

Elaborate decoration and precious materials were the hallmarks of furniture-making of the era, and marquetry became an especially popular technique. Derived literally from the phrase “to mark a tree,” this craft involves applying thin decorative surface veneers onto solid wood. In this particular design, we see a rare example of mother-of-pearl inlay used to breathtaking effect. Other materials employed in marquetry can include wood, metal, laminate, pearl, bone and precious stones set in dark woods.

The type of marquetry that would have been used to create our Exotic Marquetry design is known as “tarsia a incastro,” or the Boulle method, so named for the famous French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle in the late 17th century. As Master cabinetmaker to King Louis XIV, Boulle was arguably the finest craftsman at this style. In the years since we have come to know the style, which is still used today, by his name. It seems only fitting that a style that was quite literally “fit for a king” should be chosen as our first furniture-inspired cover art.