Straw Marquetry

Far Eastern Origins, a French Renaissance

Originating in the Far East and imported to Europe in the 17th century, straw marquetry experienced its golden age in France during the 18th century. Long forgotten, it was brought back into fashion in the 1920s by designers André Groult and Jean-Michel Frank, who applied it to Art Deco furniture and wall paneling. It was not until the work of Lison de Caunes, granddaughter of André Groult and Maître d’Art (Master of Art), that the discipline truly underwent a renaissance starting in the 2000s.

For a fine pattern, progress is measured in square centimeters per day.

An Endangered Art Craft

Today, the number of practicing straw marquetry artisans in France remains very low. A handful of studios perpetuate and reinvent this confidential expertise, classified among the endangered fine art crafts.

Rye Straw

The raw material is exclusively rye straw, chosen for its length, flexibility, and natural sheen. This brilliance comes from the silica the cereal absorbs from the soil during its growth: it acts as a natural varnish, making any finishing product unnecessary, and gives the finished straw inimitable, shimmering reflections. A single French cereal grower currently supplies all the marquetry artisans across the country.

Three Tools, One Craft

Straw marquetry is practiced with just three tools: the bone folder, which flattens the split strand to smooth it and reveal its sheen; the scalpel, which cuts and drafts; and the brush, which applies the glue. Each strand is split with a fingernail, moistened, flattened, and then veneered strand by strand, edge to edge, onto a substrate — wood, stone, metal, leather, anything is possible. For the most complex patterns, the artisan may cut down to a quarter of a strand’s normal width.

Time as a Medium

It is this slowness that defines the value and intensity of a straw marquetry piece. It also explains why a work, by its very nature, can only exist as a unique piece: no pattern, no dye, and no reflection can ever be identically reproduced.