Straw Marquetry

From East Asia to a French renaissance

Originating in East Asia and introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century, straw marquetry flourished in France during the eighteenth century. After a long period of relative obscurity, it was revived in the 1920s by decorators André Groult and Jean-Michel Frank, who used it on Art Deco furniture and wall panels. From the 2000s onwards, Lison de Caunes — granddaughter of André Groult and a French Maître d’Art — played a decisive role in the craft’s renaissance.

For the finest patterns, progress is measured in square centimetres per day.

A rare craft

Today, very few straw marquetry artisans are active in France. A small number of studios preserve and reinvent this little-known expertise, recognised among the French métiers d’art considered at risk of becoming increasingly rare.

Rye straw

The material is exclusively rye straw, selected for its length, flexibility and natural lustre. This lustre comes from silica absorbed from the soil as the rye grows. Acting like a natural varnish, it removes the need for a surface finish and gives the prepared straw its distinctive, shifting reflections. A single French grain grower currently supplies straw marquetry artisans throughout the country.

Three tools, one craft

Straw marquetry requires only three tools: a bone folder to flatten and burnish the split strand; a scalpel to cut and shape it; and a brush to apply the adhesive. Each strand is split with a fingernail, moistened, flattened, then laid strand by strand, edge to edge, onto a support — wood, stone, metal or leather. For the most intricate patterns, a strand may be cut to just a quarter of its usual width.

Time as a material

This deliberate slowness defines both the value and the intensity of a straw marquetry piece. It also makes every work inherently unique: no pattern, colour or reflection can ever be reproduced in exactly the same way.