USA Bald Eagle Intarsia

Handmade Intarsia using Black Walnut, White Pine, Bubinga and Paduak. I did use some wood stains because I felt the colors needed to be true. This piece is large and measures About 21” square. Wood species are listed in the back. It is dated and signed also. There’s a heavy duty sawtooth hanger on the back. 

intarsia: 1) a mosaic of wood fitted and glued into a wooden support popular in 15th century Italy for decoration;  2) the art or process of making such work.

The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pearl) within the solid stone matrix of floors and walls or on table tops and other furniture; by contrast marquetry assembles a pattern out of veneers glued upon the carcase. It is thought that the word ‘intarsia’ is derived from the Latin word ‘interserere’ which means “to insert”.

During its zenith, Intarsia was applied to nearly any surface imaginable – walls, ceilings and floors, furniture and jewelry boxes, even carriages for royalty. As Europe moved into the industrial age this art gradually began to fade.