This Tunbridgeware writing box was made by Edmund Nye of Tunbridge Wells, around 1845-60. A piece of Tunbridge ware took a variety of craftsmen many months to complete. Firstly the carcass was constructed using a wood such as pine or sycamore. Then it was covered in a base veneer, which in this case is rosewood. Squares of different woods were then cut and arranged to create the illusion of 3 dimensional cubes. This was known as parquetry.