Wallpaper from Wood Samples

[WP12]Amboyna Burl(Pterocarpus indicus)

This wood grows in the East Indies and was so named because it was originally shipped from the island of Amboyna, near Borneo. The heartwood is brick red to golden brown in color but ages to a dull brown leather color. The highly prized Amboyna burl, one of the rarest and most valued wood products in the world, is marked with little twisted curls and knots in a manner more varied than bird's-eye maple. There is a distinctive sweet smell when working the wood. The more red the wood, the heavier it is, but an average density might be 45 pounds per cubic foot (720 kilograms per cubic meter). It is little used for ornamental turning, but because the burl is so exquisitely figured, it makes a nice compliment to a piece to use it for finials or perhaps a cabochon-like inlay on a flat box top.

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