Sulfur-Inlay Furniture
Sulfur Inlay, also known as Sulfur-Etching, is a decorative technique used in woodworking and decoration. It is not a common technique, though it can be seen in some regions of Creation where both timber and volcanic sulfur can be located.
To inlay sulfur, a groove is carved into the surface of the wood, and molten sulfur is poured into the groove. Due to the low heat required to melt it, the sulfur will not burn or discolor the surrounding wood. Once the sulfur has cooled down and hardened, any unevenness is scraped or sanded away.
The resulting inlay has a colour between pale and vibrant yellow, depending on the particular source of the sulfur, and lacks the characteristic foul odour of sulfur. However, should the sulfur be overheated when melting, the resulting inlay will take on an increasingly brown tint and the scent of rotten eggs will build rapidly. This demands that those doing the inlay avoid any errors or inattention. Even when done correctly, the process releases sulfurous gases which carry a potent rotten-egg scent and are quite toxic, causing breathing difficulties, severe illness and reducing life expectancy after regular exposure.
The most significant sulfur-inlay tradition can be seen on the island of Bushan, whose woodcarving tradition, plentiful Teak, and volcanic island grant them the necessary resources for the art. The process has been used to decorate the most expensive War Canoes, through slow and careful work by expert artisans, producing intricate swirling and spiraling patterns recounting the exploits of the canoe’s crew and sponsors.
In the Wood season in RY765, the favour of Dynastic fashions fell upon Bushanese sulfur-inlay, when Princess V'neef hosts a salon where guests are seated on such furnishings, followed by their use by the lady V'neef Mahara at the Gala of Perfected Performance some weeks later. Demand skyrocketed and quickly outstripped supply from Bushan, where such furniture had been considered a mere novelty and rarely produced. House V'neef pushed for establishment of furniture factories to carve and inlay furniture in larger quantites, speed and scale causing abandonment of the cautious methods normally used by the Bushanese... increasing health problems and even deaths have been occurring along the production lines.
When the popularity of the inlay was recognized, a number of other Great Houses sponsored their own efforts: House Mnemon established production in Wavecrest (whose inlays are more geometric than the curves of the Bushanese), and House Peleps and House Nellens continue to develop volcanic islets whose products have just begun to reach market, in hopes of securing their own profitable supplies before the trend runs its course.
