This type of marquetry is quite wrongly referred to as Boulle Marquetry. It is a type of decoration made of tortoise shell, brass, pewter, ebony, horn, ivory, bronze, mother-of-pearl, agate... and existed before the birth of André-Charles BOULLE (1642-1732). He was Louis XIV's trusted cabinet-maker and knew how to use the technique of inlaying to technical and esthetical perfection.

Work on these objects must be undertaken with the utmost rigour and in a meticulous manner as the inlays are composed of contradictory materials that react differently to wear and tear.