Nizwa Large Bar Cabinet

The Italian maple veneers are dyed immediately after being cut from the tree when still ‘wet’ resulting in deeper, richer colours. The ombré is created by hand-shading the veneer, a technique mastered by our craftspeople in Muscat.

The elegant pattern is meticulously constructed by hand using the ancient technique of marquetry, each door containing one hundred and eight individual elements of solid brass, copper or nickel and one hundred and eighteen maple veneer “petals”.

We use Italian straight grain and Bird’s Eye maple veneer, both hand dyed and laser cut into the petals which are laid together to create the façade panels for our Nizwa cabinets, bar cabinets and chest of drawers. While the grain of each piece of veneer travels in the same direction, a natural difference between each petal, providing wonderful variety in the wood’s texture and ability to catch the light.

To create our distinctive Nizwa ombre effect, Shamsian’s craftsmen build up layers of colour by hand spraying blocks of veneer in stages, ascending the rows of veneer arches from dark to light.

The slim brass arches – slightly beveled to help catch the light – are placed over the seams of each of the veneer petals, disguising where each one comes together, recreating Bethan’s pleasingly repetitive rounded Nizwa pattern.

Each cabinet is designed with adjustable feet which Shamsian and his team turn by hand on a metal lathe, completed with a highly polished but tactile finish.