Material Monday - Shagreen

The history of Shagreen

Since its very beginnings, shagreen has symbolised splendour. History suggests that amongst its earliest uses were for Japanese Samurai swords in the 13th century, cushioning the handles with its pebbly softness, providing necessary grip and denoting opulence.

Being a hide, shagreen is innately robust, which led to it also being used in the practice of grating wasabi root into a paste. This traditional method is still seen in modern Japanese society.

It wasn’t until 16th-century that evidence of sting-ray hide as a decorative material was uncovered across Europe. Shagreen furniture from Japan, such as chests and trunks, was imported and upon arrival, was found cloaked in the rarely-seen, textured substance and was even used for microscopes as it’s grip allowed for precision turns on dials and knobs.

Its popularity waned until English and Dutch craftsmen had a renewed interest and began using shagreen as a covering on trinket boxes, knife handles and shaving kits. This neatly coincided with the introduction of dye to fabric and furniture, which explains why most shagreen in its earliest days was in shades of jade, sage and emerald green.

Towards the middle of the 18th-century, shagreen saw yet another surge in popularity thanks to Madame de Pompadour – a notable member on France’s court scene and chief mistress to King Louis XIV. She fell for shagreen’s charms, investing in numerous pieces from the craftsman, Jean-Claude Galuchat and even Napoleon himself even decorated his entire bedroom in it!!!

The plants that are included in a living wall also promote the habitat of birds, butterflies and insects, which in a city environment is important for employee satisfaction as well as passers-by. The effects on social aspects of cities are also numerous with green spaces having a positive effect on social cohesion in cities. Statistics have shown that areas with more greenery suffer less from aggressive behaviour, violence and vandalism.

Unfortunately, some cities or neighbourhoods have been designed without nature in mind, which can be harmful in many more ways than just our physical health in the long term. Luckily there is one city leading the way. Singapore has a nation-wide passion for greenery which is strange for one of the most urbanized places on earth, with a density approaching 8000 per km2.

Adding a park, living wall or any green public spaces to the city landscapes influences peoples wellness positively and creates a sensation of relaxation. One of the biggest challenges of this country-city is the extreme density of people, which comes with a number of stressful situations. Given these conditions, small improvements in the way people live, travel, interact with each other and with the city is an extremely important task.

With a constantly expanding population and with limited space they have had to come up with inspiring solutions. Singaporean law actually makes it compulsory to replace any greenery removed from a new construction.

Real vs Faux Shagreen

Decorating with hide is divisive because the animal rights issues and expense of such luxury. So what’s the difference between real shagreen and faux shagreen?

Real Shagreen

True shagreen has very much taken a back seat over environmental concerns using shark and stingray hide and societal distaste for using the skins from such creatures.

Many high-end designers who do use real shagreen however, will often point out that the hides are a by-product of the fishing industry. They champion its uses because of the authentic character and unique difference between each piece that isn’t able to be replicated with the fake variety. This is obviously debated as many hides don’t come with certification of provenance.

Faux Shagreen

Most faux shagreen will be made from vinyl or polyester resin. Vinyl is a great substitute for real shagreen as many techniques are available to accurately give the textured look and feel of its real counterpart. Depending on the quality, vinyl can be far more durable also as it will not chip or crack with time and can be repaired far more easily.