inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells,

 mother-of-pearl, horn or ivory may also be used. Pietre dure, or coloured

 stones inlaid in white or black marbles, and inlays of precious metals in

 a base metal matrix are other forms of inlay. Master craftsmen who

 make custom knives continue a tradition of ancient techniques of

 inlaying precious metals; additionally, many new techniques which

 use contemporary tools have also been developed and utilized as well by artisans.

Inlay in wood furniture differs from marquetry, a similar technique that largely

replaced it in high-style European furniture during the 17th century,[2] in tha

t marquetry is an assembly of veneers applied over the entire surface of an object,

 whereas inlay consists of small pieces inserted on the bed of cut spaces in the base

 material, of which most remains visible.

Inlay is commonly used in production of decorative furniture, where pieces of

 coloured wood or metal are inserted into the surface of the carcass.

 Lutherie inlays are frequently used as decoration and marking on musical

 instruments, particularly the smaller strings.

The most famous example of furniture inlay in Europe may be the late

 15th century Studiolo [1] made for Federico da Montefeltro in his Ducal

 Palace at Urbino, in which trompe-l'oeil shelving seems to carry

 books, papers, curios and mathematical instruments, in eye-deceiving

 perspective. The similar private study made for him at Gubbio is now

 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustration).[3]