Taracea makes use of many beautiful and expensive woods, feasible because many sheets of veneer may be derived from a piece of wood that would serve for only a single structural board; some veneers are cut as thin as an ordinary sheet of paper and thus require very small amounts of wood stock. Apart from the creation and use of veneer, taracea craftsmen create pattern mosaics from which whole patterns may be cut at once. Further, the craftsmen also require thousands of tiny, shaped pieces which are applied separately as trim or inlay. Finally, the artist works with a diversity of materials, such as bone, mother-of-pearl, metals such as pewter and brass, and in more elaborate pieces, gemstones.

Taracea is a process whereby these veneers, mosaic patterns and tiny discrete pieces are inlaid into and placed onto the surface of objects, such as boxes or furniture, etc in order to create a pattern or design. Overall, the work is extremely detailed and time consuming, requiring much patience and organisation. For the tiny pieces, whether wood, bone, shell or metal, all materials have to be prepared, cleaned, and meticulously cut into their desired shapes. As for the mosaic patterns, the artist first creates long geometrically shaped strips of wood in various patterns which are then glued together along their lengths, like gluing together a sheaf of spaghetti. More and more strips, each with their own shape, are added to this sheaf or 'rod' of material, creating new patterns as they are added. The end result is one built-up intricate pattern which is visible at each end of the 'rod'. Once the 'rod' of mosaic is built up, the artist is able to cut wafer-thin slices from the end which are all exactly the same size and pattern and which may then be inlaid into the object being worked on. The perfection of these mosaics and their absolute exactness, allows the artist to create even more intricate and challenging patterns over the surface of an object, while keeping to the perfect symmetry of their overall design. Great skill is necessary to achieve the perfect symmetry of these mosaics.

Once all the inlay work is finished, all surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and polished and a coat of lacquer applied to preserve and protect these masterpieces of the taracea master craftsmen. Click here to learn more about Taracea history and here to learn more about this remarkable studio.