Brass Inlay
During the Regency period it was very much the height of opulence to inlay delicately shaped pieces of brass design into wood.
Inspired from the French Napoleonic style, this art form was only attained by the most skilled and patient craftsman. Not only would the brass itself have to be carefully hand fretted and filed into ornate and fluid designs, it would then have to be precisely inlaid into the wood without fault. The richer coloured woods like Mahogany, Rosewood, Kingwood and Coromandel were often favoured for use with brass inlay work as these combinations really emphasised and contrasted each other with great effect.
As Victorian styles began to change, the use of inlaid brass was more often reserved for personalising boxes with decorative monograms and escutcheons, rather than overall box decoration.

























