Desk or cabinet. Syria or Egypt, c. 1900 and later

Desk or cabinet. Syria or Egypt, c. 1900 and later.
Wooden structure; "certosine" inlay, in block of bone and woods in their color and stains.
Wooden core adapted to the original inlaid veneer.
Measurements: 57 x 84 x 46 cm.

Desk or "cabinet" made from an older "certosine" inlay covering, possibly from the late 19th or early 20th century, as can be seen in the one-piece back panel, in the lower part of the piece of furniture or in the asymmetry of the motifs decorating the hinged leaves and the crowning.

The technique of block inlay, with a wide diffusion in the western Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and a continuity until the Renaissance, is possibly attributed to a Hispano-Muslim origin. Its main application was the creation of geometric decorations, manifesting itself with characteristic variations in different geographical areas.