Dutch Oyster Veneer Bible Box

• Bible Box - A lidded box, often made of oak or walnut with incised carving, designed to hold the family bible with its record of births, deaths and marriages. They were sometimes set on a stand and were popular in the 17th and 18th century, although there are also 19th century examples.
• Oyster Veneer - "Oyster veneer" is a method of veneering occasionally used on antique furniture pieces. It refers to the use of thin, delicate sheets of wood that were cut from the growth rings of a tree to create a decorative pattern that resembles the texture and appearance of an oyster shell.
  
  To create oyster veneer, the woodworker would carefully cut slices of the wood at a slight angle to the grain, so that the annual rings would be visible on the surface of the veneer. The resulting pattern looks similar to the swirling, irregular lines on the surface of an oyster shell, which is where the name comes from.
  
  Oyster veneer was used to embellish high-end antique furniture pieces, such as cabinets, desks, and tables during the 18th and 19th centuries.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• boxes, function - bible box and book boxes 61
• boxes, writing - writing boxes / writing slopes, various timbers 180