Islamic marquetry panel
Marquetry is the process of cutting and inserting small pieces of differently colored thin wood or wood veneer together to form a flat design. Once the design is complete it is mounted onto a wooden backing before being planed, sanded, and varnished. Since these works are cut with a straight-edged chisel, geometric patterns are far easier to produce in this technique than curvilinear designs. Syrian and Egyptian marquetry works dating back to the 9th century are exemplary examples of this practice.
I wish to thank artist and teacher Adam Williamson (www.artofislamicpattern.com) for demonstrating this pattern at an Art of Islamic Pattern workshop.