Sorrento Ware Pierced And Inlaid Walnut Bowl

The centre of this Sorrento ware walnut bowl features a marquetry scene of two dancers in traditional costume, inlaid into a dark background, which is enhanced with black pen and ink work. The central scene is framed with very fine stringing, and surrounding this is a decorative ring of hand pierced roundels. The rim contains two lines of fine stringing, sandwiching a run of inlaid mosaic rectangles which are made up of incredibly tiny pieces of wood. Sorrento in Italy has a long tradition of making wooden souvenir items. The diameter is 188 mm (7.5 inches) along the grain, and slightly less across the grain as wood shrinks across the grain over time. It stands 27 mm (1 inch) high. It is in very good condition and would date from around 1900.