Intarsia (from Italian intarsio – cutting, deepening) is a type of inlay, a technique for decorating a surface in which one material is deepened or cut into the thickness of another. In popular literature and even in specialised publications, the techniques of surface cladding (mosaic set), pasting, or wood staking (marquetry) are often equated with recessed intarsia. The difference between these techniques is indeed imperceptible from the outside; it can only be detected by looking at the item from the flat end (but it is usually covered by some kind of covering).

It is believed that intarsia originated in Ancient Egypt, where wood was first used for inlaying alongside more ‘noble’ materials. Archaeologists discovered black wood inlays on the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Intarsia reached high artistic level in Rome and Ancient Greece, where, according to Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24 – 79), a Roman writer, naturalist and scientist, furniture made of customary wood was decorated with thin slats of precious wood.
In China and other countries in Southeast Asia, there is an ancient tradition of decorating wooden items with mother-of-pearl on black or red lacquer.
Intarsia reached its peak in Italy during the Renaissance. This technique was most often used to decorate church furniture and utensils. At the beginning of the 16^th century, more than eighty workshops in Florence alone worked in this technique. Mosaics were most often used to decorate furniture and utensils.

Intarsia is needed when it is necessary to stitch together materials that differ in thickness and physical properties, such as wood and stone. For integrity, one material should be inserted into a recess in the other; surface gluing is not suitable. Using ‘deep inlay’ (perhaps this term is possible), the ancient Egyptians decorated furniture, chests, and sarcophagi made of cedar or ebony with Egyptian faience, lapis lazuli, ivory, tortoiseshell, and mother-of-pearl. After embedding the decorative material into the base, the surface was polished.

During the Italian Renaissance, wood inlay was used both in furniture and for decorating walls. However, Italians always preferred the general term ‘incrustation’ (perhaps following the Latin etymology), which introduces some ambiguity in cases of technical reconstruction.
In the 17^th century, Dutch and Flemish craftsmen used intarsia techniques to decorate black wood cabinets with marble, mother-of-pearl and coloured stones.
In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the labour-intensive technique of intarsia was gradually replaced in furniture art by a simpler wooden technique known as marquetry. The word ‘marquetry’ means inlaying with veneer.

It is difficult to distinguish between intarsia and marquetry with 100% accuracy due to the similarity of these techniques. In essence, marquetry, similar to intarsia, is also a mosaic made of wood, but the pieces of the mosaic are made of thin veneer, assembled together at the edges like a jigsaw puzzle, fastened and glued to a flat base. This is a less labour-intensive and costly technique. The confusion in definitions is further compounded by the fact that some marquetry is done according to the principle of intarsia – by cutting pieces of veneer into the main canvas.

Thus, the main difference is that intarsia is a method of decoration in which an ornament or pattern is cut into a special recess on the surface of the product, while marquetry is when an ornament or pictorial image made of veneer is glued to the surface without first cutting a recess.

The characteristics of the techniques described above and their distinctive features can be seen in the items presented in the museum Сollection repository.

Items decorated using the intarsia technique:
Multi-Gem-set Intarsia Box. Nicolai Medvedev. 1992 (on the cover)
Musical toiletries' case with two keys, two envelopes, a packaging holder with nineteen items, and cushion. Martinet et Benoit. France, Paris. 1830-1840 гг.
Musical mantel clock with half-hour chime and cuckoo. Germany. Late 19th century

Items decorated using the marquetry technique:
Portable organ (barrel organ). Organ builder Kitesov. Georgia, Tbilisi. Late 10^th century
Chair with musical mechanism. Switzerland (musical mechanism). Germany, Black Forest. 1890-1900
Music box for storing jewellery. L. Lecoultre. Switzerland, Sainte-Croix. Circa 1840

In addition, the museum Collection exposition features Japanese Shodana cabinets decorated in the unique “Shibayama technique", which is similar to both inlay and intarsia. For more information about these items, see the section ‘Museum Stories’ – ”Japanese Shodana Cabinets’ in the museum Collection exposition”. Parts 1 and 2 (video).