Chinese Mother-of-Pearl Armchairs with Floral Inlay
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A pair of Chinese Mother-of-pearl inlaid rosewood armchairs, later 20th century, traditional style armchairs with archaic relief fret ornament and piercings to the sides and apron, raised on angled square section legs with block feet, the splats, cresting rails and arms decorated with auspicious flora in vases, one chair with prunus emblematic of winter the other with spring peony, accompanied by fitted purple silk cushions, height 92 cm, width 66 cm, depth 71 cm
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- Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries. - Rosewood - A dense timber that varies in shade to very light brown to almost black. When rosewood is cut and sanded the colour of the timber will turn black, and after polishing and exposure to daylight, the surface will gradually lighten over time to light brown with black streaks.
The name comes from the odour emanating from the timber when it is planed, sanded or cut.
Rosewood was very popular for use in Victorian furniture in the second half of the 19th century, and at that time most of the rosewood was imported from Brazil. However it also grows in India and Indonesia.
It is used in the sold for chairs and table legs, but for carcase furniture such as side cabinets and bookcases, and for table tops it is always used as a veneer. - Emblematic - Serving as a symbol.
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