Herringbone is the term we use to describe the arrangement of diagonally grained wood. This is used, for example, for parquet flooring or wood panelling.
On furniture fronts of antique furniture, the wood is often used as a veneer. In this case, we therefore speak of herringbone marquetry. The veneer strips are laid together as marquetry in such a way that the grain of each layer runs in the opposite direction to the previous one. This is usually done with one and the same type of wood, so that we obtain a very restrained enlivenment of the surface.