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Abalone
and Mother of Pearl are harvested from shells. Their sale in the US is
regulated but they are readily available. They are available in flat
plates of small size (the shells are curved and of limited size),
generally no bigger than a couple of inches across. They are used
almost exclusively in interiors for inlay into other material. Wood is
only one material in which abalone and mother of pearl can be inlaid.
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Below are some images of inlay work that we've done.
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This inlay is comprised of mother of pearl for the girl's hair, satinwood veneer for her flesh, holly
veneer for her dress, inlaid into blue-pearl granite. It is emblematic of the
precision to which it is possible to inlay one hard material into
another hard material.
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This is one of a series of Indian Rosewood panels inlaid with abalone
and mother of pearl in various floral patterns.
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This portraiture is rendered on Indian Rosewood using English sycamore for her face and abalone for her hair.
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