INLAY ART | Kakee Marble Art

Marble Inlay Art

One of the things that make the Taj Mahal so wondrous and special is the marble inlay work you find on it. In fact, you find this beautiful art form on other Mughal monuments too.

Marble inlay is a closely protected traditional art and only a few experts are skilled enough to do justice to it in this day and age. The delicate process involves carefully cutting and engraving marble shapes by hand. Roughly speaking, this is how it works.

To begin with, a predefined pattern, like say, a floral or geometrical design is engraved on the marble slab. After this, small pieces of marble of different shades are cut delicately to precisely fit and slipped into these grooves. Apart from marble, many other materials can also be used to adorn the marble inlay spaces.

The Pietra-dura work

Inlay work on delicate precious stone began in the workshops of Florence in Italy around the end of the 16th century. This was known as PIETRA DURA, which means hard (dura) stone (pietra).

The Italians created an art form that the world came to appreciate and pietra dura appeared on a range of objects from decorative panels to hand-carved bird to flower motifs to cabinet fronts to table tops to presents from travelers to Emperors in the resplendent Mughal courts in faraway India.

Of all the Mughal Emperors, Shah Jahan was the greatest patron of the arts in general and architecture, in particular. For him no amount of money or time was too much to create enduring, everlasting architectural wonders that would wow the world and stand the test of centuries of time. It is in his buildings that one sees the confluence of Mughal art and Italian pietra dura.

Above all, the Taj Mahal, the cenotaphs of the Emperor and his wife, the main floor and the surrounding marble railings, all bear very close resemblances to the pietra dura form of inlay work.

For more designs and details, please click on reference image.