Writing Box

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 463

The surfaces of this writing box are veneered with ebony and inlaid with ivory and sadeli, a type of micromosaic in use since antiquity. It is associated with the eastern Mediterranean region, from where it spread to Iran and India. This technique consists of binding together sections of diverse materials (tin, wood, ivory, bone, etc.), which are sliced transversally and formed into thin sheets of repeating patterns that are adhered to a wooden support.

Writing Box, Wood; veneered with ebony, inlaid with ivory and bone (partially stained), brass (sadeli technique)

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