Inlay

inlay

1. Dentistry a filling, made of gold, porcelain, etc., inserted into a cavity and held in position by cement

2. Art decoration made by inlaying

3. an inlaid article, surface, etc.

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inlay [′in‚lā]

(graphic arts)

A picture or ornament made by inserting a material such as metal into a space in metal, stone, or wood; the material (such as wire) may be burnished, heated, or fused.

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inlay, intarsia, marquetry

1. A shaped piece of one material embedded in another as part of a surface ornamentation.

2. Such ornamentation as a whole. Also see encaustic tile.

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Inlay 

the decoration of an object or building (facade or interior) with designs and images made out of small pieces of marble, ceramic, metal, wood, or mother-of-pearl that are set into a surface. The color or material of an inlay distinguish it from the object that it adorns. However, there are some inlays made out of the same material as the decorated surface, such as wood on wood (intarsia), metal on metal, and stone on stone. In the ancient Orient, Greece, and Rome the eyes in statues and busts were inlaid. In principle, the incrustation of concrete panels in modern prefabricated buildings with small pieces of crushed stone is a form of inlay.