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Marquetry is the artistic craft of covering a structural carcass with veneer, forming decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The decorative result is commonly found on furniture, small table tops and storage boxes.
Popularity
Marquetry came to prominence as a form of opulent furniture decoration in the 16th and 17th centuries, enjoying particularly, fashionably popular periods, right up to the present time.
Location
Marquetry is a non competitive activity carried out in doors. Predominantly undertaken by males, there is no reason what so ever why it should not be as popular with the ladies.
Age
There is no age restriction other than that of experiance to creating pieces of marquetry. Children are often encouraged to create patterns from large previously cut pieces of wood or card (mosaics), avoiding the need to use a sharp knife.
Ability
To create and assemble a fine intricate piece of marquetry, takes experiance and practise, demanding reasonably good eyesight, steady hands, the ability to use a very sharp knife and much patience.
Description
Marquetry as a modern craft is most commonly knife-cut: the knife used is therefore of paramount importance. Other requirements are a pattern of some kind, some cheap (i.e. not very sticky) clear sticky tape, PVA glue and a base-board. Finishing the piece will require sand-paper or wire wool, possibly with a sanding block. Either ordinary varnish or the techniques of french polish can be used to seal the piece.
Dedication
The veneer used is primarily wood, but may include bone, mother-of-pearl, pewter, brass or fine metals. Many types of wood may be used both common and exotic, making full use of the range of colour texture and graining. materials such as ivory and turtle-shell (conventionally called tortoiseshell) have been used in the past , but are now illegal, but are more than made up for by the array of modern materials available.
Potential
The potential of this activity is in the satisfaction of turning an ordinary object into something unique and beautiful, maybe something that will become a treasured family heirloom.
Closely
Related Activities
Marquetry is similar in finish to; Parquetry (repeated geometric shapes), and the more ancient craft of inlay, in which a solid body of one material is cut out to receive sections of another. Carpentry 804, Mosaic, Stain glass making 579.
Cost
If decorating an existingly owned object, the monetary cost of marquetry is modest (depending largely on the choice of veneer materials) for although you may be using expensive materials you use very little of them. The real cost is in time, it takes many hours to create a single piece.
Level of Demand
The table below shows the maximum levels of demand that this activity requires. NOTE: These are not entry levels or levels of requirement and has nothing to do with ability.
 Energy |
| Arms
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| Legs
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| Sight
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| Hearing
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| Speech |
| Learning |
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