mother-of-pearl inlay; nacre decoration
Refers both to the material (nacre) and the traditional decorative technique of inlaying it into lacquer or wood. Common in art and craft contexts.
This box is beautifully decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay.
Mother-of-pearl inlay work is one of Japan's traditional crafts.
mother-of-pearl inlay; raden work
From Chinese 螺鈿 (luódiàn), literally 'shell inlay'. The characters 螺 (spiral shell) and 鈿 (inlay) reflect the material and technique.