Have you looked at those old Moorish palaces and wondered what the art depicted there is called? Well in many instances, they have an art form that is called inlay. In this form of art, a hard material is used as the background, usually stone or wood. The design is etched into the material and then inlay work is done by filling in the etched part. Though art with crystal, which is a collector’s dream, is pretty delicate, sometimes even crystal is inlaid with other things or crystals are used for the inlay. The fact that there are so many things to see in the world of handicrafts makes in fascinating, fulfilling and fun like inlay work.

Inlay Art Work – Intricate And Interesting

There are many top ideas on woodwork for the satisfaction of working with your hands, but if you are think of inlay work, you will need to learn how it is done before you start.

If You Are Still Not Clear On What Inlay Art Is Really Like, Here Are Some Facts About It That Will Leave You Astounded.

Cut to precision: Can you imagine the amount of precision that you will need to cut stone or hard wood and that too without the use of machines? After all, the kind of inlay work we are talking about was done in the past when people working on such things did not have access to the kind of machines and implements to work with. They not only had to create a design that will look good but also cut the surface of usually something really hard to the perfect amount of precision.

Inlaid to fit without glue: In most cases, the material that would be cut to fit the design for the inlaid work would be fitted into the etched surface without using any glue or other forms of adhesive. This means that the piece that is being inlaid has to fit in perfectly without any wiggle room. The thing is not only would the piece have to fit in well, but the surface will also have to appear smooth and seamless for the art to work.

Precious stones: In many cases, inlaid art work was done on white marble which would have the design cut in and the area that was cut would be filled in with precious and semi-precious stones that would be cut to precision. Now you can understand the kind of pressure these artists were under when working on inlaid art with precious stones and valuable stone like marbles and granite.

Works on jewelry too: Apart from inlaid art being used on buildings and other structures, this kind of art work was also used to create jewelry. Since the art of making jewelry used both precious metals and stones along with all kinds of semi-precious stones, inlaid jewelry is highly priced for the work done and the materials used. In some cases, the crevices are inlaid with enamel which tends to take on the place of precious and semi-precious stones and also makes very charming pieces of jewelry.

Now that you know a little about inlaid art we are sure, you will have even more appreciation for this kind of work when you visit places of historical importance, where you will come across such art. Just imagine the creativity and ingenuity of the artists who originally worked on it without the help of computer graphics or any modern implements to do the designing and heavy cutting.

We are sure that we have given you plenty of food for thought with regards to inlay art and we are sure that you will also enjoy the images given here.