SORRENTO ITALIAN INTARSIO FURNITURE
Virtually all the furniture featured here is imported from Sorrento, Italy. It dates generally from the time between world wars, when the Italian economy was under stress and artisans struggled to earn a living. The high end market involved fine wood craftmanship.
Black Fang Museum was fortunate to contact an art dealer who had been storing Italian furniture in a warehouse for decades, enabling accumulation of this unique collection.
The Art of Sorrento Wood Inlay (Intarsio)
Historically, Sorrento is world-renowned for intarsio, a centuries-old technique where artisans create intricate patterns or pictures by fitting together small pieces of different colored wood.
Traditional Motifs: Designs often feature local landscapes (cliff sides and ocean views), floral patterns, or geometric mosaics.
Craftsmanship: True Sorrento pieces use various wood types like walnut, cherry, and olive to achieve different colors without using artificial dyes.
Common Items: While small jewelry and music boxes are most famous, this technique is also used for larger heirloom furniture like desks, chests, and small tables.
Traditional Sorrento inlaid furniture (or intarsio) is a specialized craft from Italy where artisans fit together varied wood veneers to create intricate scenes or geometric patterns. These pieces are often considered heirlooms because of the labor-intensive marquetry involved.
Traditional Italian Inlaid Pieces
If you are looking for authentic Sorrento craftsmanship, these pieces feature the classic fruitwood inlays and marquetry scenes that the region is famous for.
