intarsia

American  

[in-tahr-see-uh] / ɪnˈtɑr si ə /

noun

1. an art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, especially of wood mosaic, developed during the Renaissance.

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intarsia British  

/ ɪnˈtɑːsɪə /

noun

1. a decorative or pictorial mosaic of inlaid wood or sometimes ivory of a style developed in the Italian Renaissance and used esp on wooden wall panels

2. the art or practice of making such mosaics

3. (in knitting) an individually worked motif

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Other Word Forms

• intarsiate adjective

Etymology

Origin of intarsia

1860–65; alteration (influenced by Italian tarsia ) of Italian intarsio, derivative of intarsiare to inlay, equivalent to in- in- ² + tarsiare < Arabic tarṣīʿ an inlay, incrustation; see tarsia

Example Sentences

The divo’s suits were mostly with shorts — sometimes silken, sometimes tweed with lurex threading, sometimes leather — with a loose jacket or perhaps an intarsia sweater.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2023

Jones, who succeeded late designer Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi and works alongside the founding family’s scion Silvia Venturini Fendi, also took inspirations from Lopez's drawings for intarsia leather designs, lace dresses and shimmering evening frocks.

From Reuters • Sep. 22, 2021

Isabel Marant, Hermès and Jil Sander all received the comfy-core memo, with roomy knitwear crafted with graphic intarsia and abstract patterns in contrasting colours.

From The Guardian • Jan. 28, 2021

The show covered 100 looks over 30 minutes, including full-length intarsia furs featuring images of the New York skyline and the American flag.

From Washington Post • May 22, 2018

In Spain there must have been a good deal of intarsia done, seeing how long the Moors held the southern part of the country, but very little has come down to us.

From Intarsia and Marquetry by Jackson, F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton)