The Unfinished Piece

It was found in a drawer that had not been opened in years, wrapped in cloth that had taken the shape of the piece beneath it. The marquetry was laid but not completed; the border stops mid-line, as though the person cutting it had been called away and never came back.

Two hands are visible in the work, and they do not match. The earlier cuts are tighter and more cautious. The later ones are looser, made by someone who had stopped worrying about being caught out.

It has not been finished, and there is no plan to finish it quickly. The workshop's view is that the piece is waiting for a third pair of hands, and that a thing kept honestly unfinished is better than a thing completed by the wrong person.