19th Century Mongolian Damascened Saddle with Box

• Damascene - Damascening is a technique used to decorate metal objects, such as swords, armor, and other metalwork, by inlaying different colored metals into grooves that have been etched or engraved into the surface of the metal. The technique is believed to have originated in Damascus, Syria, and was later adopted by other cultures such as the Japanese, Indians and Iranians.
  
  The process typically involves etching a design into the surface of the metal, and then filling the grooves with a contrasting metal, such as gold or silver. The inlaid metal is then burnished to create a smooth surface, and the design is polished to a high shine. Damascening can create intricate and highly detailed designs, and is often used to decorate weapons, as well as jewellery, and other decorative objects.
• Shagreen - Shagreen is the untanned smoothly pebbled textured skins of rays, sharks or dogfish. In finishing, it is dyed, mostly green, but the colour often fades to a cream colour. Shagreen was a popular material in Europe during the Art Deco era, when designers sought to mould the French tradition of luxury with exotic and precious materials. Most collectable items made from shagreen are smaller objects, like glasses cases, dagger and sword hilts, dressing accessories, boxes and picture frames.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• oriental objects - boxes 1,766