AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

This paper details the combining of traditional French marquetry techniques with contemporary CNC inlay methods. The project is the replacement of a lost marquetry top for a writing desk base attributed to Jean Francoise Oeben. The top chosen for reproduction was the well known mechanical desk by Oeben at the Getty Museum. Topics discussed are ethical considerations, the relative advantages of each process, and similar works by Oeben in public collections. Also noted are sources of period veneers and substitutions for commercially extinct woods.