Dragonfly Box

Here is another one of my marquetry projects.  This was done on an upcycled wooden cigar box.  I like working with the cigar boxes as they are actually made of mahogany.  I love the Art Nouveau period with all of the winding arches in the designs.  They are very challenging to cut but as you can see, the end result is so worth all the effort.
                   This box is 10 3/4 inches by 7 3/4 and is 2 1/4 inches deep.

The woods used in this design are maple, birds eye maple, dyed poplar, pear wood, rainbowed poplar, walnut, and the wings out of this incredible dyed white figured maple called the pearl.  I wish the photos could capture the movement in the grains of the pearl veneer - they actually look shimmery.  The dragonfly eyes are cut from paua shell veneer to add a pop of color.

The inside lid of this particular cigar box was painted with logos and because the lid is inset I couldn't veneer the inside of the lid as I originally planed on.  I covered the inside lid with decorative paper and added a padded velvet bottom.