Taracea (pronounced 'tah-rah-say-ah' or 'tah-rah-thay-ah') is the Spanish term for marquetry or 'inlay' work and the term we use simply because of the beauty of the word. 'Taracea' derives from the Latin word intarsia, which means inlay. This sumptuous decorative technique employs thin pieces of richly grained or coloured woods, nacre, bone and metals such as brass and pewter, glued in sheets or numerous tiny pieces to the surfaces of inferior woods. In its purely traditional form, the taracea should respect a clearly-defined geometric design, employing suitable materials, combinations of colours and ornaments. Basic components of the elaborate design of this art are the stars and half-moons of different forms and colours which, once assembled and trimmed are glued onto the surface of the wood until they completely cover it. After this, the piece is polished and varnished, all with the expert hands of the master craftsman.

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. In actual fact, most modern artisans create their taracea pieces using 'discards' or wood which could not be used for other purposes. Taracea is used to create objects such as boxes, furniture, clocks frames, etc. as well as for decorating existing surfaces such as floors, walls and stairways.

Historically, it is known that a rudimentary form of taracea was made during the Sumerian epoch in Mesopotamia (3000 years BC) as well as being practised in ancient Egypt in the tombs of the pharaohs; indeed, it appears on caskets as well as funerary furniture and ornaments. During the Roman Empire, intarsia was further developed and embellished, only to disappear from the archaeological and historical records until the Middle Ages around the Mediterranean. At this point, forms of taracea appear in Persia, spreading to Europe through Spain and Italy. Later forms were further refined and embellished in Hungary, Germany, France and England, although more commonly referred to as 'marquetry'. Also, in Asia during this same period a form of taracea was developed during the Ming dynasty of China (1368-1644).

However, after being introduced into Spain by the Moors sometime during the 8th and 9th centuries, taracea techniques spread throughout Al-Alandalus in the building of Mosques, palaces and homes. Taracea was used for decoration throughout the period of Islamic Spain, from the minbars of Córdoba's Great Mosque and the Qarawiyin Mosque in Fez, to that of the Kutubiyyah in Marrakesh. Taracea as an art form achieved perhaps its highest flowering at the Palace of the Alhambra, in Granada, during the 14th and 15th centuries. The superb cabinet doors from the Palacio de los Infantes in Granada have their entire surfaces, inside and out, inlaid with silver, precious woods and green- and natural-colored bone in an intricate design of stars and wheels framed by hexagons, all within rectangular double guilloches, or twisted bands. A dazzling constellation in silver, they are a final accolade to the astonishing art of Islamic Spain.

It is believed that, in Granada, this art was influenced by the ornamental work being carried out in leather and polychromatic ceramics in Córdoba in the X11 Century. Employing these same techniques and designs and translating them to fine woodworking, artists of Moorish Granada proceeded to enrich and embellish their ornamentation right up until the Christian era.

These same techniques and designs inspire much of the decoration of the Alhambra, achieving a rare splendour for the artists of this traditional occupation.

To this day, in Granada, the legacy of this magnificent example of Moorish culture has continued to grow and improve, handed down from father to son, from master to apprentice, throughout the centuries.

As with all traditional hand crafts in this increasingly mass-produced world, the fine art of Taracea is at a critical juncture, threatened by machine-made, mass-produced inferior copies and a general lack of awareness of the time, dedication and skill employed by master craftspeople in the creation of their art. Our collection of taracea art from Granada consists of lovingly crafted reproductions of pieces which once graced the walls and the halls of the Palace of Granada, renowned for its art, its culture and for its beauty. Click here to learn about the techniques of Taracea craftsmanship. More information may also be found in our glossary under taracea.