Book Illustration, Album de meubles boulle, no. 10: contenant modèles style Louis XV–Louis XIV et Louis XVI; Bureau de dame, bronzes et marqueterie de bois, plate 1174

The forms and patterns of marquetry as perfected by André-Charles Boulle are on clear display in this engraving from almost a century after he first popularized them. The forms of the carcase were classic and had changed remarkably little—despite brief flirtations with rococo carved pieces—as the workshops producing boulle marquetry catered to a large, diverse market. These forms and the technique endured amid changing Parisian fashions, providing a foundation for great variation in pattern. The beautiful decorative patterns could be made from a wide variety of materials, like tortoiseshell, brass, pewter, and other fine materials.