What kind of wood is used in Art Deco furniture?

Art Deco furniture uses richly figured, often exotic hardwoods: Macassar ebony, walnut, rosewood, amboyna, zebrawood, and burl veneers, usually lacquered or polished to a deep shine. The refined French makers prized dramatic grain, and Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann famously paired Macassar ebony with ivory inlay to make a cabinet read as jewelry. Much of this wood appears as veneer over a stable core, not because it is a shortcut but because veneer lets a maker book-match and radiate the grain into sunburst and chevron patterns that solid planks cannot achieve. Darker species dominate because they hold lacquer and catch light with more drama than pale timber. In a Deco piece the grain is the ornament, so the figure of the wood matters as much as the shape it is cut into. Modern Deco leans on walnut and dark-stained oak for the same effect.

AURA looks for that figure first. The art deco furniture we carry favors deep walnut and lacquered veneers whose grain does the decorating, with finishes that look best under a lamp rather than a showroom light.