Harewood is the name given to sycamore maple that has been deliberately stained and chemically treated to alter its naturally pale colour to darker tones. Originally pale cream or off white, the wood was processed to achieve silvery greys and metallic hues, which with time and natural oxidation mellow into warm browns often with subtle grey or green undertones. This transformation is a defining characteristic of historic harewood seen in antique furniture and marquetry.

The timber itself is sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, a hardwood native to Europe and parts of southwestern Asia. It is valued for its fine, even texture and generally straight grain, though it can also display curled or rippled figuring. When this tight, regular curl is present it is often referred to as fiddleback, a term derived from its long standing use in the backs of stringed musical instruments where both strength and visual refinement were essential.

Harewood has a particular association with decorative work of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In England it was widely used by marqueteurs, who favoured it for its ability to accept chemical treatments that produced a lustrous, metallic appearance. Iron based solutions were commonly used to create silvery effects that could not be achieved with holly, which tended to produce flatter grey tones. This reflective quality made harewood especially desirable for pictorial marquetry and ornamental panels.

Over time, exposure to light, air, and the chemical treatments themselves causes harewood to darken naturally. As a result, surviving examples in antique furniture now display rich brown colouring rather than their original silvered appearance. This ageing process is entirely characteristic and forms part of the material’s historic identity.

Sycamore maple is moderately hard, works cleanly with both hand and machine tools, and finishes smoothly. It has been used for veneers, boxes, musical instruments, and finely crafted domestic objects where a refined surface and subtle figuring were required. Harewood examples are particularly valued for their decorative impact and their close association with high quality English and continental furniture of the eighteenth century.