Japanese Rosewood Side Cabinet with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay

An early 20th century Japanese rosewood and mother-of-pearl…
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An early 20th century Japanese rosewood and Mother-of-pearl inlaid side cabinet, the sides and door panels inlaid with pine trees, cranes and clouds, scroll pierced frieze to base. 68 x 38 x 90 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.
  • Frieze - An architectural term denoting the flat, shaped or convex horizontal surface of furniture, between the architrave and the cornice, usually found on a cabinet or bookcase, or on desks and tables where it may include drawers, the area between the top and the legs. In ceramics, the term refers to the banding, of usually a repeating pattern, on the rims of plates and vases.

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