Panel of Eger marquetry of several woods, showing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, dated 1661 in the marquetry and with the initials IGF (Johann Georg Fischer)

Rectangular panel of Eger marquetry, showing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, the panel inlaid in the lower left corner with the date 1661 and the initials IGF.

Christ, with gilded halo and wearing the Crown of Thorns, sits on a block, over which his gilded loincloth is draped. He is posed against a masonry wall, pierced to the left by a single arched window, through which a woman (possibly Mary Magdalen) is seen at half-length, her hands clasped in anguish. Behind her is a view of landscape with a river and a hill town. In the foreground, at Christ's feet, are a scourge, a birch rod and a finely-wrought ewer and basin. The initials and date are inlaid into a rock in the lower left corner.

Construction
The marquetry is partly inlaid and partly veneered onto a panel of pine, with the grain running vertically. The panel is heavily warped across the grain. There is evidence at the edges of rebating, perhaps for fitment into a frame.

The marquetry is built up in several layers. Several woods are used, both European and tropical and some are stained, only the green stain remaining to any extent. It is possible, for instance, that the blood of Christ was originally a strong red. The marquetry forming the view through the window is inlaid into the pine substrate, as can be seen on the left side, with additional layers glued or pinned on (wooden pins can be seen in places on the mountains). Some elements are of sufficient thickness to allow the carving of details. Additional details are inlaid, such as the boat and boatmen on the river, the details of the hill town houses and the trunks of trees. Some of the smaller details, such as the tears of Mary Magdalen, are both inlaid and carved.

Over the window section is veneered a single large sheet that is visible as the masonry wall against which Christ is seated. This veneer was probably originally at least 5 mm thick (the thickness of the string course on the wall just above Christ's head. This thickness was then carved back to form the wall surface, but remains deeper in the some areas of the panel, providing a base layer for the figure of Christ, the block and the whole of the foreground floor section. This is visible on the right edge of the panel. The details of the masonry are scored and punched and the whole of the surface is stained. In the areas where this is raised, the surface is veneered with interlocking sections of wood to create the image of Christ and the instruments of the Passion, with some elements of at least 5 mm thickness to allow for carving (as on the ewer). Some motifs, such as the scourge and the birch rod and inlaid across two or more sections of veneer and carved. The wounds and the blood issuing from them have also been additionally inlaid into the boxwood forming the body of Christ.

This panel was bought for £10 in 1869 from Mr J B Chamberlain. At that time it was thought to be Spanish. In the Art Referees Report (RF 117/1869) the following comment was made:
'This shows well the peculiar nature and process of Spanish marqueterie [sic] in relief. It agrees well with the celebrated cabinets in the possession of Mr Louis Huth and I consider of somewhat earlier date. It also supplied interesting material for comparison with the revival of the process introduced by Messrs Fourdinois in the grand Cabinet purchased by the department from out of the last International Exhibition. I should think ten pounds ought to pay for this object. I strongly recommend its purchase. M. Digby Wyatt. January 1 1869.'

The cabinet by Fourdinois referred to here is Museum No. 721-1869, which shows a form of inlaid, carved work. This was highly praised as a prize winner in the 1867 Paris International Exhibition.

Report, Jan. 1872 on SKM objects acquired as Spanish (generally from a Spanish source) which Senor Riaño declares not to be Spanish (Reg. Pa. 37495/1871) [MA/1/R741/1]
Note, Signor Juan Riaño was appointed as Professional Referee 1870.
41-1869 German, reference to Brulliat (?)as to the monogram on the panel
[Sir Digby Wyatt, 117. Jan 1869 “This shows well the peculiar nature & process of Spanish marquetry. It agrees well with the celebrated cabinets in the possession of Mr Louis Huth.”]

This particular form of sculpted marquetry was developed in Eger, Bohemia, in the early 17th century and the trade was at its height between about 1640 and 1680. It involved the setting of multiple pieces of wood, both native-grown and imported from tropical areas, each of them of different thicknesses, allowing for bas-relief carving to complete the image. The wood was set on a base of softwood, usually spruce, pine or fir. Mahogany, walnut and maple were particularly used for the marquetry, together with burr woods (highly figured wood cut from the roots or base of trees), which was used to create particular effects. Details might be added by engraving or by inlaying minute pieces of wood or other materials into the marquetry pieces, as with the tears of Mary Magdelen here.

The images created in this marquetry were often base on widely available engravings and could illustrate all sorts of scenes, biblical narratives and classical myths being among the most popular. Certain families became particularly known for this work, amongst them the Eck family and the Fischer family. Johann Georg Fischer was one of the leading craftsmen in the tradition. His work was acquired by the Electoral Princes of Saxony for their Kunstkammer (art collections) in Dresden.


Eger marquetry had a particular vogue in the 19th century, when it was admired for its high technical excellence. As is obvious from the history of this piece, however, it was not necessarily recognized for what it was and could even attributed to quite different places of manufacture. The V&A has a number of pieces of Eger marquetry, including a games board with a panel showing the death of Absalom (W.61-1938)) and a large cabinet-on-stand (W.42-1977). It also has a number of small table cabinets made up with re-used Eger panels (museum nos. 7823-1861, 21-1884 and W.38 to 40-1939) which are evidence of the 19th-century popularity of such marquetry.

Eger in Bohemia, now Cheb in the Czech Republic, became famous in the first half of the seventeenth century for a particularly complex type of marquetry. This mixed flat veneers with thicker pieces of wood, the surfaces of which were then carved in low relief. The resulting panels were more like some types of Italian work in pietre dure or hardstones. Very often the wood was originally brightly stained, which would have made the similarity even closer.

Johan Georg Fischer was one of the best known makers. Designs were often based on engravings. This panel, showing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, was based on an engraving by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), published in 1509 as part of his series 'The Great Passion'. That print shows Christ standing before the pillar at which he was scourged, rather than seated, but its dominant motif is the same large, arched opening as on this panel, with the figure of St John as well as that of Mary Magdalen.

41-1869