Arabesque Deluxe Box, Inlaid with Mother of Pearl (7 H, 5 W, 2.5 L inches)

This stunning handmade mahogany box is hand-inlaid with precious mother of pearl with a unique combination of geometric shapes and floral patterns in the style of traditional Islamic Arabesque mosaic. These harmonious patterns and ornaments are Islamic artists’ interpretation of their natural surroundings. The Arabesque art style emerged in Arab countries but was immensely popular in Egypt. Egyptian artists found inspiration in their natural surroundings. They used to depict natural elements on furniture and other items in geometrical shapes and patterns of circles, triangles, and squares to formulate floral or create patterns in an exquisite abstract way.

Nacre, Mother of pearl shell, is hand-inlaid to create harmonious geometric patterns. It enriches the box with a marble colorful effect. Mother of pearl shell is a natural kind of decoration that is extracted from the biomaterial that forms inside molluscan shells, as well as it makes up the outer coating of pearls. It has multiple uses in architecture, fashion, and musical instruments. The natural Nacre tesserae are cut into small shapes then tinted with any color for decoration.