The origins of straw marquetry have their roots in Asia where straw has many uses in everyday life. Rice straw was used to make mats and rope so it is not hard to imagine that left-over straw used in the manufacture of household items was seen as useful in decorating small boxes. For instance, in Japan it is called ’Mugiwarazaiku’ and has been around for nearly 300 years. In the West it has been practiced since the 17th century when it was considered an acceptable hobby for cloistered nuns. During the Napoleonic wars, French prisoners held in British jails created snuff boxes, tea caddies and cabinets decorated with straw marquetry. All that was needed was straw bedding, a knife and dyes made by boiling colored rags. A prerequisite for this craft seems to have been a lot of time to spare. Few examples survive today and those that have are well preserved or were little used. These include sewing boxes, tea caddies, snuff boxes, small cabinets and writing boxes.
Straw work is not very complicated and in some respects similar to the related craft of decoupage with straw being replaced by paper. Designs of a geometric pattern are favored along with intricate pictorial scenes. The pattern is drawn on the surface that is to be covered or onto a piece of paper which will serve as a backing. In either case, the preparation of the straw is the same. Uniform, cylindrical lengths of straw are selected according to the texture that is needed. These vary from species to species with barley, wheat, oat, rye and rice the most common. Additional colors can be had with food or aniline dyes. With a knife the straw is slit open along its length to form pieces about 5/16” wide and 12” long. With a damp sponge they are moistened and burnished with a blunt edged tool until they are flat. A hot iron set on low can also be used. The outside of the straw is the face as this provides the greatest degree of translucent texture. The action of the design is carried out by cutting needed lengths of straw and glueing these to the design. No visible gap should appear where 2 pieces come together. What is even more important is the glue used in securing the design. Standard white glue is acceptable, but an adhesive with a low water content is ideal. PVA bookbinders glue would be a good choice. In the case of geometric designs it is better to glue identical sections onto kraft paper and then trim to the desired shape.
Parquetry is another suitable means of decorating with straw marquetry. If the marquetry is to be applied to solid wood it is recommended to glue a backing of kraft paper to stabilized it. Where plywood or some similar type of wood is used it is not as necessary to have a backing. This precaution is needed because the delicate nature of the material will cause it to bubble up as the substrate contracts and swells to changes in humidity. When two surfaces meet at right angles the edges are burnished after the glue has dried. In most cases the marquetry is applied after the case piece or box has been assembled and a heavy weight is placed on it.
In finishing straw marquetry it is not an essential step since alot of these pieces are left unfinished. If a protective coating is needed it is usually applied by spraying a light coat of shellac or lacquer. Marquetry created in this way is of course not very durable, but the texture of honey-colored straw is dazzling when applied to geometric shapes like trompe-l’oeil designs.
The craft itself is not widely practiced in the United States and is called ‘straw work’ or ‘straw painting’.
Here is a link to a video (in French) about straw marquetry that will give some idea of how it is done.
