Inlay Collectibles and Curiosities

A large and very rare silver-inlaid antique Judaica tray Jerusalem, c.1900 Height 2.5cm, diameter 62cm This large and remarkable work is a copper and silver-inlaid antique Jewish tray, featuring meticulous and exceptional metalwork, and was made in Jerusalem around the turn of the twentieth century. It features a twelve-fold repeating pictorial decoration, which is set between two circles, that of the central ring in which a large menorah...

This exceptionally wonderful and rare automaton cylinder musical box by the Mermod Fréres firm of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland is a marvel of musical crafts...

This Zuni Indigenous American sterling silver and inlaid gemstone figural rabbit brooch or pendant was made by Porfillo and Ann Sheyka. The piece was handmade in most likely the late...

This Classic, antique scale with original plates was created in Dijon France, circa 1870. Rectangular in shape, the fruit wood scale embellished with marquetry fillet decor, features...

English Gothic style, 1895, Ibach upright piano with a carved, oak case and ornate brass candlesticks and handles. Cabinet features traditional folk art motifs and carvings. Pilasters carved with hearts and stylised trees. Piano cheeks feature a carved sun in a half hex and stylised bird in flight. Front panel inlaid with folk elements including trinity tulips symbolising faith, hope and charity in a central urn with stylised foliage. Piano legs are turned with carved spiraling detail . Piano pedals feature a raised, ornate brass footplate in a curlicue design. Repeating, carved barrel vaults...

Antique marquetry wood music box by Langdorff & Fils Swiss, Late 19th Century Height 31cm, width 68cm, depth 35cm Crafted in the late 19th century, this exquisite music box was pro...

A Japanese Cypresswood or hirohi ‘Walsh, Hall & Co, Yokohama’ tea chest Yokohama, 1862-1897, with inscription reading: Choicest Natural Leaf Yamashiro Tea, Packed by Walsh, Hall & Co, Yokohama Measures: H. 53.5 x W. 61.5 x D. 41.5 cm Including original wood box The chest gold, silver and red lacquered on a black lacquer ground, the top decorated with an eagle sitting on a branch, looking at a small escaping bird, the front with a pheasant under a chestnut, one side with a cockerel amongst foliage, the back decorated with an argus pheasant...

Miniature mother of pearl inlaid mosaic model of a hexagonal table, Morocco late 19th century. This sweet little table is beautifully inlaid with mother of pearl in various hues of i...

A wonderful and very large chess or checker board made of inlay wood with a 3.75" Perimeter of solid wood and a detailed routed edging. The back is covered...

A beautifully made fully functional miniature chest of drawers. This three-drawer chest of mahogany with inlaid panels of satinwood and pencil inlay. Only 11 inches tall, this chest ...

This is a unique custom surfboard featuring a marquetry deck, designed and hand-crafted by the w o o d p o p studio which specialises in marquetry and inlay work. The studio prides...

An antique handmade boat model on pedestal from the early 20th century, with bone inlay over wood. Charming us with its exquisite craftsmanship, this antique handmade boat model from...

This exceptionally beautiful and rare silver-inlaid brass tray stand dates from the medieval period, when the Mamluks ruled Egypt and Syria (1250-1517). The Mamluks originated as slave-soldiers, who served the Muslim caliphs and Ottoman Empire. With time, the Mamluks became a powerful military caste, and they managed to take control and establish themselves as rulers of certain areas within the Abbasid caliphate. The Mamluk dynasty commissioned great works of art and architecture, particularly in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, which was described in the 14th Century as ‘the centre of the universe and garden of the world’ (Ibn Khaldun, 1382). This tray stand is of biconical form, with a raised central band and flared base and rim. It is decorated with scrolling vines, overlaid with Thuluth inscriptions and roundels. On the lower body, the roundels contain floral motifs, and in the upper, stylised depictions of birds. The Thuluth inscriptions praise the patron, referring to him as ‘The High authority, the Lordly, the Possessor’, and ‘the learned’. The underside of the rim is engraved with a heraldic medallion, possibly the patron’s symbol. In the middle ages, when this piece was made, this item would have stood in a grand interior, supporting a tray full of fruit and fine food. The owner of this lavish piece which still bears traces of its original silver inlay would likely have been an Amir (prince) or some other important figure who was close to the Sultan in the Mamluk court. Mamluk tray...

An extraordinary Alexandra Llewellyn design in wood marquetry that offers an exciting new way to play this timeless game, our circular Zodiac board...

Arts and Crafts style, Lipp grand piano for sale with a mahogany case inlaid with symbols and designs from Germanic folklore. Case features ornate brass hinges and slatted cross stretcher. The mahogany cabinet is polished in matt to emphasize the quality of the wood used. Cabinet features a simple geometric cross stretcher supporting the simple gate legs. The Arts and Crafts period championed the simplicity of form and the construction of the object. Here, the brass hinges are accentuated with two-tone brass and stamped geometric designs. Richard Lipp...

This is a unique custom surfboard featuring a marquetry deck, designed and hand-crafted by the w o o d p o p studio which specialises in marquetry and inlay work. The studio prid...

Crucifix from the mid-1800s with a carved shroud or veil depicting Christ in the base. This unique and remarkable antique crucifix can both be used as a table and as a wall crucifix. Over the decades we have sold a number of unique and very well crafted crucifixes, but never one in the Art Decò style with this combination of materials and techniques. The overall design and size is what stands out first, but the details and the materials are what make this antique work of religious art extraordinary. The relatively large base of this unique crucifix is a work of religious art in its own right. It is almost as if the cross is growing from this beautiful base and the cross itself too comes with a number of superbly inlays details. With their symbolic meaning of birth and resurrection it is obvious why the artist / sculptor so tastefully incorporated them here. Apart from a minor 'lean' to the left, the cross itself too is in excellent condition. If one were to speak of a trinity in this crucifix then the unique base and cross are completed with an equally striking, solid bronze corpus of Christ...

Prize Shooting & Military-Type 19th Century Horn, Bone, and Iron Construction A rare and highly collectible set of five antique European crossbow bolts, comprising four guild-styl...

A set of lute/guitar brooches made in Venice Italy during the 1960s or 1970s. The micro mosaic consists of tiny pieces of colored glass. Set into gilt br...

The w o o d p o p pintail longboards are handcrafted in workshops on either side of the Welsh/English border the UK. Each one is made from best quality Finnish Birch and vacuum lamin...

Antique George III quality mahogany inlaid banjo barometer having a swan neck top, quality mahogany case with inlaid satinwood shells brass bezel engraved silvered dial original hand...

The w o o d p o p pintail longboards are handcrafted in workshops on either side of the Welsh/English border the UK. Each one is made from best quality Finnish Birch and vacuum lamin...

This is a unique custom surfboard featuring a marquetry deck incorporating 24 carat gold leaf, designed and hand-crafted by the w o o d p o p studio which specialises in marquetry an...

This is a unique custom surfboard featuring a marquetry deck, designed and hand-crafted by the w o o d p o p studio which specialises in marquetry and inlay work. The studio prides...

Antique George III quality mahogany shell inlaid banjo barometer having a quality mahogany banjo shaped case with satinwood shell inlay, brass bezel, silvered engraved dial, original...

A very rare Louis XVI period serinette or bird organ in the form of a transitional style gilt bronze mounted and marquetry inlaid miniature commode in the manner of gilbert, by Robert Richard, Paris. With a label for ' RICHARD - maitre facteur d’orgues et mécanicien / Rue de richelieu à la bibliothèque Du Roy / Paris 1775'. This rare Serinette or Bird Organ has a wooden cylinder barrel mounted by twelve pins and linked to twelve sound pipes. A crank attached to the front panel controls the bellows that activates the mechanism. The exceptional marquetry inlaid case is in the form of a gilt bronze mounted transitional style miniature commode. The top of the commode is inlaid with a landscape scene with buildings, opening to an interior with an allegory of Love Conquering All, represented by two doves perching on a bow and quiver. The front of the commode depicts two obelisks centred by a Fine musical trophy and each side is inlaid with panels depicting the Medici Vase. The back of the commode is decorated with floral marquetry. A closely related Serinette dating from circa 1770, also in the form of a miniature commode, with the marquetry case stamped by the master marqueteur Leonard Boudin, is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The term serinette is derived from serine, French for finch. The instrument worked like a small barrel organ with a barbed cylinder, wind box and lead pipes and produced a high, thin sound in imitation of birds. Other versions included a merline, which copied blackbirds and a turlutaine, which copied curlews. Used to teach caged birds to sing tunes, different barrels could be inserted to train different birds. It first appeared in France circa 1730 and became a popular drawing-room toy for fashionable women. An interesting painting commissioned in 1751 for Louis XV by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and now in the collection of the Louvre, depicts a refined lady seated in her salon playing a bird organ to encourage her bird to sing. Robert Richard Robert Richard was a Parisian organ and harpsichord maker and the mécanicien du roi to Louis XV and Louis XVI and was based in the Bibliothèque du Roi in rue de Richelieu. Initially working alongside the Cliquot family who acted as 'facteur d'orgue du Roi', he is recorded as building an organ for the church of Notre-Dame de Quebec, in Montreal in 1753 (destroyed in 1759) and as the inventor of a mechanical concert shown in an engraving by d'Eisen in 1769. Canon Jean Marie De La Corne described Robert Richard as : ''Le plus habile ouvrier de paris, fameux mechanitien et Homme de probité''. French, Dated 1775. Literature: Pierre Kjellberg, The French Furniture of the 17th century, The Editions of the Amateur, 2008 Count Francois de Salverte, Cabinetmakers of the 18th century, Editions of Art and History, 1934 Raymond Russell, Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Musical Instruments, Volume I - Keyboard Instruments,(London, 1968; p. 69.) Elizabeth Miller...

A modernist 1970's Taxco, México Sterling Silver with Niello finish and a tiger's eye cabuchon brooch by Sigifredo Pineda. The curved 2-layer design is in clear silver finish in fron...

A framed set of eleven micromosaic plaques of Italian monuments Italian, 19th century Measures: Height 22cm, width 21.5cm, depth 2.5cm Made du...

This marquetry skateboard from the w o o d p o p studio is an example of the type of modern marquetry that w o o d p o p is becoming synonymous with. Since its inception 10 year...

This marquetry skateboard from the w o o d p o p studio is an example of the type of modern marquetry that w o o d p o p is becoming synonymous with. Since its inception 10 year...

The w o o d p o p pintail longboards are handcrafted in workshops on either side of the Welsh/English border the UK. Each one is made from best quality Finnish Birch and vacuum lamin...

Wood and leather game box for chess, Nine men’s morris and Backgammon Italy, 19th century 33 x 33,3 x 11,2 cm Nine men’s morris also known as mill game (merelles, from the Latin wor...

Each w o o d p o p balance board is meticulously handcrafted in our Black Mountains workshop in the UK. Doubling up as an integral part of any fitness r...

A bespoken Mexican Modern silver necklace circa 1950s from Taxco, Mexico and crafted by William Spratling (1900-1967), an American designer and entrepreneur who established his silve...

Cornice da Tavolo argentata con Commesso di Fiori inizi 1900 di forma ovale con un profilo perlinato ed incernierato nella parte destra in modo tale da poter aprire la cornice che presenta due piedi ed una cimasa riccamente decorati da volute finemente incise nei bordi. La cornice di questa placca ovale è realizzata in lamina di ottone di buon spessore ed argentata con una marchio sul retro con le iniziali  MV in campo ovale con figura di un martello al centro. Il commesso è realizzato su lastra di ardesia o lavagna con l’intarsio di una rosa al centro e dei fiorellini di campo. Degne di nota le foglie verdi per le quali sono state scelte pietre dure con sfumature chiaroscurali naturali che danno una bella profondità alla composizione floreale. All’interno dell’antina ovale troviamo una fodera verde stampata in oro con la dicitura G. Montelatici 7 Lung’Arno Corsini Firenze con giglio fiorentino al centro.  Giovanni Montelatici...

This Fine, circular micromosaic plaque shows four doves drinking water from a golden bowl, upon which they perch. The Classical design for the mosaic is taken from one found in the Roman Emperor Hadrian's villa in the 2nd century AD. Hadrian's mosaic, which was on the floor as is traditional, was probably based on a design by Sosus of Pergamon, a Greek master artist. Known as the Capitoline Doves...

The w o o d p o p pintail longboards are handcrafted in workshops on either side of the Welsh/English border the UK. Each one is made from best quality Finnish Birch and vacuum lamin...

Each w o o d p o p balance board is meticulously handcrafted in our Black Mountains workshop in the UK. Doubling up as an integral part of any fitness r...

Each w o o d p o p balance board is meticulously handcrafted in our Black Mountains workshop in the UK. Doubling up as an integral part of any fitness r...

Moorish Brass inlaid camel saddle /towel rack The finest example, heavily inlaid with brass, possibly originally an officers or wealthy persons saddle. Can be easily mounted and ...

Pair of 19th Century Scottish Monogrammed Hardwood Lawn Balls  A pair of 19th-century Scottish monogrammed hardwood lawn balls. Each ball, measuring 5 inches in diameter, is crafted...

Restored, 1907 Ibach Model 2 grand piano with a cherry case in a checkerboard design and inlaid, contrasting squares on the piano lid. Piano music desk is in an openwork dual criss-cross design. Piano has gate legs with four contrasting black spindles. Piano one of two designed for and offered to Richard Strauss by Ibach. Ibach made two pianos almost identical in this design except, the other #56279 had low, square piano cheeks. Richard Strauss chose that one as he intended the piano for his home where he hosted concerts and wanted his audience to be able to see his hands. This piano remained in the possession of Ibach and was used in exhibitions for promotional purposes. This piano was designed by Emanuel von Seidl, a German architect, interior designer and engineer. Between 1900 and 1918, Seidl was a successful villa architect and was known far beyond the borders of his hometown of Munich. Probably his most important private houses include that of Richard Strauss with its generously glazed bay window and view of the Alps, and the country estate Schloss Wolfsbrunn built for the mining entrepreneur Georg Wolf.

Mexican Modernist double sided sterling silver cross inlaid with malachite, carnelian and lapis lazuli 20th Century This finely crafted double sided cross is composed of oval and cir...

This exquisite 19th-century Italian micro mosaic mural panel is a true masterpiece of artistry and devotion. Painstakingly crafted by skilled artisans of the time, it depicts the poi...

Large Silver “Jambiya” or Curved Dagger With Its Sheath. These are often Extremely well Crafted with Extraordinary inlaid Silver Designs accentuated with “Neillo”. This Inlaid Handl...

Antique Victorian Chinese export black lacquered wood and abalone shell inlaid folding games box, backgammon, chess and checkers game. The fine antique Chinese game board in black lacquered wood and abalone inlays, decorated with architecture, chinoiserie scenes of animals, figures, boats and landscape on the outside, medallions of floral design on the inside. Handcrafted Chinese black lacquered folding game set box with the exterior designed as chess board the interior as a backgammon board, both boards inlaid intricately carved and etched abalone shell. Dimensions: Length: 25” Width (folded): 11.25” Height: 3” Dimensions: unfolded: 22.75" x 27 x 1.5". Circa 1920s, this great game set remains in good vintage condition. There is no game pieces included just the box. Collectible fine antique Asian game set...

The Tibetan lamellar iron armor with dark patina, provided with shoulders and helmet, can be traced back to the 17th-18th centuries and is in excellent condition. It belonged to a pr...

Italian sterling silver humidor or cigar box, adorned with a micromosaic on top depicting the Colosseum and Roman Forum, partially gilt around the edge of the micromosaic, in an eleg...

PRESENTING an EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Hair Pin/Bobbin or Slide. This slide is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before, it is a VERY RARE survivor. From circa 1860 – 80 and made in Tunbridge Wells, England. Made of walnut with gorgeous marquetry inlay on the entirety of the front with classic Tunbridgeware micro-mosaic all over the front. The rear is walnut. The marquetry inlay appears to be various different woods, namely, maple, walnut and satinwood. Would have been worn in a Lady’s hair bun with the micro-mosaic facing forward. This would have belonged to a VERY ELEGANT LADY in the mid to late 19th Century. Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different coloured woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion. There is a collection of Tunbridge ware in the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery in Tunbridge Wells. The famous makers of Tunbridge ware were in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent; their most notable work was from circa 1830-1900. Early makers of Tunbridge ware, in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-18th century, were the Burrows family, and Fenner and Co. In the 19th century, around 1830, James Burrows invented a technique of creating mosaics from wooden tesserae. Henry Hollamby, apprenticed to the Burrows family, set up on his own in 1842 and became an important manufacturer of Tunbridge ware, employing about 40 people. Edmund Nye (1797–1863) and his father took over the Fenner company when William Fenner retired in 1840, after 30 years in partnership with him. Thomas Barton (1819–1903), previously apprenticed at the Wise factory, joined the Nyes in 1836, and worked as Nye’s designer; he took over the business in 1863 and continued there until his death. In Tonbridge (near to Tunbridge Wells), George Wise (1703–1779) is known to have had a business in 1746. It continued with his son Thomas, and Thomas’s nephew George (1779–1869), who took over in 1806. In its early years the company made articles such as workboxes and tea caddies with prints of popular views; later items had pictures created from mosaics. Their workshop in Tonbridge, Wise’s Tunbridge Ware Manufactory, was next to the Big Bridge over the Medway; the building was demolished in 1886 to widen the approach to the bridge. Tunbridge ware became popular with visitors to the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, who bought them as souvenirs and gifts. Articles included cribbage boards, paperweights, writing slopes, snuffboxes and glove boxes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Tunbridge ware by Edmund Nye, Robert Russell and Henry Hollamby was shown; Edmund Nye received a commendation from the judges for his work. He exhibited a table depicting a mosaic of a ship at sea; 110,800 tesserae were used in making the picture. The manufacturers of Tunbridge ware were cottage industries, and they were no more than nine in Tunbridge Wells and one in Tonbridge. The number declined in the 1880s; competent craftsmen were hard to find, and public tastes changed. After the death of Thomas Barton in 1903 the only surviving firm was Boyce, Brown and Kemp, which closed in 1927. Marquetry was an old technique which was continued by Nye and Barton to create images such as birds or butterflies. ‘Green Oak’ as caused by the fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. Stickware and half-square mosaic was invented by James Burrows in about 1830: a bunch of wooden sticks of different colours, each having triangular or diamond-shaped cross section, were tightly glued together; in the case of stickware, the resulting block was dried, then turned to form an article such as the base of a pincushion. For half-square mosaic, thin slices were taken from the composite block, and applied to a surface. Tesselated mosaic, was a development by James Burrows of half-square mosaic; it was adopted by George Wise and Edmund Nye. Minute tesserae were used to form a wide variety of geometric and pictorial designs. Many sorts of wood were used for the various colours; about 40 were in regular use. Only natural colors were used; green was provided by “green oak”, produced by the action of fungus on fallen oak. Designs for articles were often taken from designs of Berlin wool work.

This is a 19th century antique hardwood inlaid banjo barometer with a thermometer and a 10' silvered dial, brass bezel with convex glass. It is a very...

Rare, meaningful, practical, handcrafted and highly decorative antique table. This one of a kind table will appeal to spiritual people and collectors of stylish, rare and meaningful...

Antique Victorian Micromosaic Brooch with Gilded Framing, Italy early 20th Century A Victorian micromosaic brooch with a central floral bouquet motif and the inscription "ROMA". Sur...

Silver “Jambiya” or Curved Dagger With Its Sheath. These are often Extremely well Crafted with Extraordinary inlaid Silver Designs accentuated with “Neillo”. They Often have Ivory Ha...

Dutch extra long Mahogany Measure Bar, 1894 by Sande-Beskens A mahogany in Dutch an "Elle stok" measures bar by J. & A.V.D. Sande-Beskens, Nederlands Z...

Crucifix from the mid-1800s with a carved shroud or veil depicting Christ in the base. This unique and remarkable antique crucifix can both be used as a table and as a wall crucifix. Over the decades we have sold a number of unique and very well crafted crucifixes, but never one in the Art Deco style with this combination of materials and techniques. The overall design and size is what stands out first, but the details and the materials are what make this antique work of religious art extraordinary. The relatively large base of this unique crucifix is a work of religious art in its own right. It is almost as if the cross is growing from this beautiful base and the cross itself too comes with a number of superbly inlays details. With their symbolic meaning of birth and resurrection it is obvious why the artist / sculptor so tastefully incorporated them here. Apart from a minor 'lean' to the left, the cross itself too is in excellent condition. If one were to speak of a trinity in this crucifix then the unique base and cross are completed with an equally striking, solid bronze corpus of Christ...

Superb oratory in oak from the Louis XIV period. The lower part forming a drop-leaf desk, has a door with its original hinges and rests on a platform. In the upper part, the pediment...

Victorian marquetry wall barometer and thermometer. English, 19th century Measures: height 98cm, width 25cm, depth 7cm. This elegant piece is a fin...

Exquisite decorative panel inspired by the architecture of the Alhambra in Granada, with detailed wood marquetry work and golden elements. The piece features two raised arches with a...

Beautiful pair of vintage Middle Eastern tribal fibulas. A fibula was used to close a woman's veil in the Middle East and Africa. Handcrafted by Berber a...

1970s oriental horsewhip of leather and marquetry.