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| Icon-Baby LOVES Inlay furniture |
1. Late 19th Century Syrian Inlaid Chest of Drawers 2. Beautiful mother-of-pearl mirror hand made in Damascus 3. x-leg stool from antiques-indian 4. Mirror from Emporium Home 5. Ottoman in ebony teak ivory-bone-mother-of-pearl bijouterie table
Islamic inlaid furniture developed for the most part during the 19th century when Europeans went on the grand tour and the orientalist movement flourished. Prior to that, Islamic furniture consisted pretty much of low seating along the walls, boxes containing dowery textiles and niches in walls for display of precious things.
Once Europe and the Islamic world started to influence each other, workshops in Istambul, Aleppo, Damascus and Cairo started to produce European style furniture such as cupboards, chairs and glass door cabinets and to decorate them in Islamic style. The ornamentation is based upon arabesques, florals, geometrics and calligraphy. The designs were applied by two methods - inlay work where the mother of pearl, bone and ivory pieces were planted into the wood and marquetry where the pieces were laid like a veneer on top of the wood.
