Mother of pearl inlay is one of the oldest decorative traditions still practised by hand in the Levant. Thin pieces of natural shell are cut, shaped and set one at a time into a solid wood ground, then filled, levelled and polished until the surface reads as a single plane. What you see across this collection — the mirrors, the octagonal side tables, the chests, the folding screens — is that one technique applied at different scales.
The work is Syrian in origin. Damascus was the centre of it, and the vocabulary is unmistakable: interlocking stars, radiating rosettes, arabesque vine, and the fine chequerboard banding that frames almost every panel. Pieces in this collection are built on beech, walnut and mahogany, with shell set alongside bone, ebony and occasionally abalone for contrast. Some are recent work. Others are genuinely old, and are described as vintage or antique on their own product pages.
Every piece here is one of a kind. These are not production items with a warehouse behind them — when a piece sells, that exact piece is gone. Most are already made and in stock, ready to ship in two to three business days; a small number are made to order and say so clearly on the page. Prices run from around $999 to $8,000, and shipping is free worldwide.
How the Inlay Is Actually Made
The shell is the slow part. Mother of pearl is the iridescent inner layer of the shell, and it has to be sliced thin, softened, flattened and then cut to shape before any of it touches wood. Each fragment is fitted into a recess cut into the timber, and on a densely worked panel there may be several thousand individual pieces. That is why a single chest can take weeks at the bench.
Because the shell is a natural material, it is never uniform. Held at different angles the same panel shifts through cream, pink, pale green and grey. Two pieces cut from different shells will not match exactly, and a close look at any of these surfaces will show that variation — it is the clearest evidence that the inlay is real shell rather than printed transfer or resin.
The same logic runs through our other handmade lines: the carved lattice of Mashrabiya and the freehand weaving of our Egyptian Woven Tapestry collection are both built the same way — by hand, slowly, with no two results identical.
Choosing Between a Mirror, a Table and a Chest
Mirrors are the most architectural choice and read as wall art as much as function. They range from around 28 inches to over 60 inches tall, and the larger crested frames carry a carved pediment above the opening that adds considerable height. A 60-inch frame needs a wall that can take it — above a console, in an entrance hall, or leaning where the ceiling allows.
Side tables are the most flexible entry point. Most are octagonal, between 18 and 28 inches high, and inlaid on every visible face including the underside of the top. They work beside a chair, at the end of a sofa, or as a bedside table. Because the pattern runs over the whole form rather than sitting on the top surface only, they hold up when seen from above.
Chests and case goods are the statement pieces. These are the largest and heaviest items in the collection, from small chests of drawers up to full wedding chests, and they tend to anchor a room on their own. Folding screens sit in the same bracket — they divide a space, or stand flat against a wall as a single large decorative panel.
Where These Work in a Room
Inlaid furniture is high-contrast and highly patterned, so it wants space around it. One inlaid piece in a quiet room reads as a focal point; three competing against a patterned rug and busy walls will read as clutter. The usual mistake is grouping them.
They sit naturally against plain plaster, limewash and warm neutrals, and against unfinished wood and stone. The shell picks up whatever light falls on it, so placement near a window or a lamp does more for these pieces than any amount of styling around them. Our Moroccan lamps work well in the same room for that reason — pierced brass throws patterned light, and inlay catches it.
In a period interior these read as antiques. In a very plain modern room they read as sculpture. Both work. What tends not to work is placing them against strong wallpaper or a heavily patterned textile, where the inlay loses its definition.
Living With Inlaid Wood
These pieces are stable and long-lived, but they are wood and shell, and both respond to their environment. Keep them out of prolonged direct sunlight, which will fade and dry the timber over years. Avoid placing them directly over a radiator or under an air-conditioning outlet, where repeated drying and re-humidifying is the main cause of lifted inlay.
Cleaning is simple: a dry or barely damp soft cloth. No household sprays, no alcohol, no silicone polish, and nothing abrasive — the shell sits flush with the wood and aggressive cleaning attacks the join between them rather than the surface. Dust along the grain and the banding rather than across it.
Wall-mounted pieces need fixings rated for their actual weight and fixed into masonry or a stud, not plasterboard alone. A large inlaid mirror frame is genuinely heavy. If you are unsure about a specific piece, talk to us before you order and we will give you its weight and dimensions.