Shagreen was first used in Turkey during the 12th century as inlay on battle shields, it was later used as a decorative material in France during the reign of Louis XIV where it became known as galuchat. It began to flourish again in the 1880's and disappeared in 1939 with the outbreak of WW2. Only four workshops produced it in the early 20th century. The most famous one belonged to Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann. The author now works with shagreen.