Sulphur inlay is a rarely used technique for decorative surface inlay in wooden cabinetmaking.
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The technique originates in the 18th century, but was only used for a short period. Between 1765 and around 1820, German immigrant cabinetmakers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania used it to decorate the surface of chests. The Deitrich chest of 1783 is now in the Smithsonian.
Commercial reproducers of such chests may rarely re-create this inlay technique as well.
Technique
The inlay technique is simple. A small groove is carved into the surface of the wood, then molten sulphur is poured into the groove. Once cooled and hard, the surface may easily be scraped flush.
Sulphur is used as it has a low melting point, easily achieved on a hotplate. This also reduces the risk of charring the wood with a hotter liquid inlay material. On cooling, sulphur also expands slightly, locking it into place.
The colour of the sulphur inlay is a pale yellow or off-white. Overheating the sulphur causes it to darken to brown, and also produces noxious fumes and a risk of fire.
Antiquarians unfamiliar with sulphur inlay have mistaken old examples for varieties of beeswax or white lead.