Intarsia

This article is about the form of wood inlaying. For theknitting technique, see Intarsia (knitting).Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to

Geometric gure (1537), intarsia by fra Damiano da Bergamo;Museum of the Basilica of Saint Dominic, Bologna, Italy

marquetry. The term is also used for a similar techniqueused with small, highly polished stones set in a marblematrix (see pietre dure).

1 HistoryThe technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at timeswith contrasting ivory or bone, ormother-of-pearl) withinthe solid stone matrix of oors and walls or of tabletops and other furniture; by contrast marquetry assem-bles a pattern out of veneers glued upon the carcase. It isthought that the word 'intarsia' is derived from the Latinword 'interserere' which means to insert.When Egypt came under Arab rule in the seventh century,indigenous arts of intarsia and wood inlay, which lentthemselves to non-representational decors and tiling pat-terns, spread throughout the maghreb.[1] The techniqueof intarsia was already perfected in Islamic North Africa

The marble intarsia oor of St. Peters Basilica

before it was introduced into Christian Europe throughSicily and Andalusia. The art was further developed inSiena and by Sienese masters at the cathedral of Orvieto,where gurative intarsia made their rst appearance, ca1330 and continuing into the 15th century[2] and in north-ern Italy in the fteenth and sixteenth centuries, spread-ing to German centers and introduced into London byFlemish craftsmen in the later sixteenth century. Themost elaborate examples of intarsia can be found in cabi-nets of this period, which were items of great luxury andprestige.[3] After about 1620, marquetry tended to sup-plant intarsia in urbane cabinet work.In the 1980s, intarsia began to gain popularity in theUnited States as a technique for creating wooden art us-ing a band saw or scroll saw.[4] Early practitioners mademoney both by selling their art, and also selling patternsused to create intarsia.[5]

1

2 4 REFERENCES

Modern intarsia using natural wood grains and colors

2 Process

Intarsia is a woodworking technique that uses variedshapes, sizes, and species of wood tted together to cre-ate a mosaic-like picture with an illusion of depth. In-tarsia is created through the selection of dierent typesof wood, using their natural grain pattern and color (butcan involve the use of stains and dyes) to create varia-tions in the pattern. After selecting the specic woodsto be used within the pattern, each piece is then individ-ually cut, shaped, and nished. Sometimes areas of thepattern are raised to create more depth. Once the indi-vidual pieces are complete, they are tted together like ajig-saw puzzle and glued to wood backing which is some-times cut to the outline shape of the image, often with theintention of creating a three-dimensional eect as seen inthe studiolo of the Palazzo Ducale, Urbino.Marble intarsia (opere di commessi), called pietre durain English for the semi-precious hardstones combinedwith colored marbles that are employed, is an intarsia ofcoloured stones inlaid in white or black marble. Earlyexamples in Florence date from the mid fteenth cen-tury and reached a peak of renement and complexity inrevetments of theMedici Chapel, produced underMedicipatronage in the Opicio delle Pietre Dure, which was es-tablished by Ferdinando I de Medici. Later complex de-signs and renement of the art developed in Naples circathe beginning of the 17th century. The oor of St. Pe-ters Basilica in Rome is a particularly notable exampleof marble intarsia. Later this form of decoration became

a feature of baroque interior design, particularly so inthe Sicilian Baroque designs following the earthquake of1693.Today intarsia can be made from purchased patterns. Tomake intarsia from a pattern, rst wood is chosen basedon color and grain pattern. Next the pattern is transferredonto the wood and individual pieces are precisely cut outon the band saw or scroll saw. Those pieces are thensanded individually or in groups to add depth to the piece.Once the sanding is completed, the wood pieces are t-ted together to form the nal result. A nish (for examplea clear gel stain) can be applied to the individual piecesbefore gluing, or to the glued nal version.[6]

3 See also Cosmatesque

Cosmati

Duomo di Siena

Lathart

Pietra dura

4 References[1] MS Dimand, An Egypto-Arabic Panel with Mosaic Dec-

oration The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 33.3(March 1938:78-79)

[2] Antoine Wilmering, Domenico di Niccol, Mattia diNanni and the Development of Sienese Intarsia Tech-niques Domenico di Niccol, Mattia di Nanni and the De-velopment of Sienese Intarsia Techniques, The Burling-ton Magazine 139 No. 1131 (June 1997:376-97).

[3] ngeles Jordano, The Plus Oultra Writing Cabinet ofCharles V: Expression of the Sacred Imperialism of theAustrias, Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies 9(2011:14-26), doi:10.5334/jcms.91105.

[4] Judy Gale Roberts, Intarsia Queen. Retrieved 21 April2015.

[5] Judy Gale Roberts, Intarsia Queen. Retrieved 21 April2015.

[6] Intarsia, How to Do it. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

Opicio delle Pietre Dure, Florence, an institute ofthe Ministry for Cultural Heritage

Jackson, F. Hamilton, Intarsia and Marquetry,(London: Sands & Co.) 1903 excerpt

35 External links Scrollsaw Association of the World website The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes

1 & 2, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Li-braries (fully available online as PDF), which con-tains material on intarsia (see index)

4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses6.1 Text

Intarsia Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intarsia?oldid=676152671 Contributors: Radioheadmilk, Charles Matthews, Wetman,Francisu, JoJan, Xezbeth, Marcok, Acjelen, Railgun, TheParanoidOne, Giano, Carioca, Ghirlandajo, Jemiller226, Rjwilmsi, FlaBot, Eubot,Loggie, Wavelength, Grafen, Wknight94, Attilios, Bluebot, Thumperward, MalafayaBot, KaiserbBot, SashatoBot, Tawkerbot2, Roberta F.,JAnDbot, The Transhumanist, MarkTwainOnIce, Johnbod, STBotD, TXiKiBoT, Slysplace, Broadbot, DesmondW, Andy Dingley, Hbur-don, Lathart, Addbot, MrOllie, Tassedethe, Lightbot, Intarsiatori, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Pkravchenko, Anna Frodesiak, LucienBOT, UrsullaPulp, NarSakSasLee, TheRawket, EmausBot, Ernie03, Jbribeiro1, Dominikmatus, Briankh, WilliamDigiCol, SJ Defender, Connaught4,KasparBot, ScottAnthonyRoss and Anonymous: 19

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History Process See also References External links Text and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license