Wood inlays have been used to decorate guitars
and vihuelas from at least as far back as the fifteenth century in Spain and
by some twelfth century viol and vihuela makers. The guitar inlays are influenced
by the guitar making tradition and the decorations used in the architecture
of Spain. Torres used a stylised version of a triple arch on the head of his
guitars. José Romanillos was influenced by the wonderful arched interior
of the Mezquita (Mosque) in Córdoba to design his archway rosette
Arched
interior of the Mezquita, Córdoba
The arches are circular in form and carried past
the normal springing point of the Romanesque arch. Those of the Mezquita in
Córdoba are normally assumed to have been originated by the Moors who
occupied parts of Spain from 711 to 1492, having brought them to the Western
Mediterranean in the eighth century.
The internal arch of Santa Comba de Bande.
It has, however, been recently suggested by a Spanish
scholar that the Moors may have taken the arch from from the Visigoths. Moreover,
the arch can even be seen on 3rd century Roman tombstones. Other sources trace
the arch back to the pre-Muslim era in the eastern Byzantium and to the Sassanian
Empire. The seventh century Visigoth church of San Juan de Baños near
Palencia is one example. The Moorish architects may then have modified it to
a lighter version to
create the very airy interior at Córdoba
The exterior
of San Juan de Baños
The ornamentation
and decoration of the guitars uses varied wood inlays using a wide range of
natural wood. Maple, sycamore, rosewood, ebony, satinwood, holly, orangewood
and many more are used to the best effect. Some 18th and 19th century techniques
are also used for modifying natural colours which do not harm the natural brilliance
of the wood. The colour schemes are varied to suit the particular guitar.
The
head design follows-on from the very stylised triple arch of Torres and Hauser
but uses the arab arch shape more directly. 
The
tiles are made from wood that suits the colour scheme of the guitar and the
wood of the back and sides.
Rosettes
are constructed of the traditional herringbone bone and other motifs. On
the concert model of guitar they are made individually and therefore each one
may be different.
In
recognition of one of the main influence behind Stephen Cadney’s guitars,
rosettes can also be made in the Romanillos ‘Archway’ style to order.
Torres
1867, FE23, Private Collection, Germany
(by
kind permission of Gerhard Oldiges)
