Ebony: A Wood Not Defined by a Single Shade of Black

Ebony is called “ebony” in English. Because its name is commonly associated with the character for black, people often picture a single jet-black wood. But when actual raw wood is laid out, it cannot be reduced to one shade of black. Some have brown stripes running across a black ground, while others have black patterns spreading over a cream-colored ground. Under the same name is a broader range of color than one might expect.

A tree in the same genus as persimmon

Ebony belongs to the genus Diospyros in the persimmon family. It is in the same genus as the persimmon tree that bears fruit in autumn. Extremely hard and heavy, it has long been used for instrument parts that are touched and subjected to force, such as piano black keys and fingerboards on stringed instruments. It is also frequently used for carving, marquetry, and turned wood objects.

An ebony block with dark brown stripes running across a black ground. A bright band remains along one corner. No. 6587

Up close, the black areas are not a perfectly uniform black. Dark brown stripes run lengthwise along the grain, and a lighter band sometimes remains along the corners of the block. In blocks more than 1 m long, these stripes continue to the ends, repeatedly growing wider and narrower.

An ebony block, 1,100 mm long. Black areas and brown stripes alternate.

The same block viewed from a low angle near the end.

Different stripes in every piece

Among ebony blocks from Indonesia, some have stripes that do not run straight but wind around knots. The brown grain curves and coils like waves, creating different patterns in every piece, even within the same species. The stripe color is not uniform either: in some blocks, tightly spaced reddish-brown lines appear between the black stripes.

An Indonesian ebony block with brown grain winding around a knot. No. 6083

The surface of an ebony block with black and reddish-brown stripes alternating across it.

Ebony with a cream-colored ground

Raw wood sold under the name “black-and-white ebony” most dramatically overturns the usual image of this wood. The ground is cream-colored, with black patterns spreading across it like spilled ink. In a block 79 mm thick and more than 1.5 m long, the black and light areas divide broadly, clearly separating the two colors across one face.

A black-and-white ebony block with black patterns spreading across a cream-colored ground.

A large black-and-white ebony block standing upright. No. 6134

A wood used in thinly sawn form

Ebony is often used as thinly sawn veneer or narrow blocks rather than in large masses. Veneer around 7 mm thick is suitable for instrument parts and inlay decoration, and even at this thickness, the brown stripes flowing along the grain remain fully visible.

A long ebony veneer, sawn to a thickness of 7 mm.

Not every black wood is ebony

Not every dark-colored wood is ebony. Woods with dark stripes, such as wenge, belong to the legume family and are unrelated to ebony in the genus Diospyros. Place wenge, with its broad face crossed by thick, overlapping stripes like waves, beside ebony, with its fine lines flowing along the grain, and the difference becomes clear. When choosing black wood, it is more accurate to confirm the name and grain before judging by color alone.